The 2026 Policy Changes That Affect Tennessee Borrowers
Federal student loan policy changed significantly in 2026 — and these changes affect every borrower in Tennesseeregardless of which state you live in. Here's what you need to know:
The SAVE Plan Is Currently Blocked
The SAVE Plan — which would have provided the lowest payments for most income-driven repayment borrowers — is under a federal court injunction. If you are enrolled in SAVE, your payments are paused (administrative forbearance), but those paused months do not count toward IDR forgiveness or PSLF.
If you're in Tennessee and enrolled in SAVE, the best path for most borrowers is to switch to IBR (Income-Based Repayment), which is fully operational and qualifies for both IDR forgiveness (after 20–25 years) and PSLF (after 120 payments for public service workers).
Federal Options Available to Tennessee Borrowers
- IBR (Income-Based Repayment): 10% of discretionary income if your first loan was after July 1, 2014; 15% if before. Forgiveness after 20 or 25 years. Open to all eligible federal borrowers regardless of state.
- ICR (Income-Contingent Repayment): 20% of discretionary income or fixed 12-year payment, whichever is lower. Available for Parent PLUS loans after consolidation.
- PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness): If you work for a government or nonprofit employer in Tennessee (or anywhere), you may qualify for forgiveness after 120 qualifying payments. All three branches of Tennessee state government are qualifying employers.
Who Qualifies for PSLF in Tennessee?
PSLF is available to borrowers with Direct federal loans who work full-time for a qualifying employer. Qualifying employers in Tennessee include:
- All Tennessee state government agencies and offices
- All Tennessee county and city government employers
- Public schools and school districts in Tennessee
- Public colleges and universities in Tennessee
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations registered in Tennessee
- Public hospitals and health systems
Federal employees in Tennessee also qualify — this includes U.S. military members, federal agency employees, and USPS workers.
PSLF discharge data for Tennessee
ED data reports 19,260 borrowers with processed PSLF-related discharges in Tennessee, representing about $1,511,200,000 in discharged balance.
View Tennessee PSLF data →Finding Your Loan Servicer in Tennessee
Your loan servicer is the company that sends you bills and manages your repayment. MostTennessee borrowers are serviced by one of these four servicers:
- Aidvantage — formerly Navient federal portfolio
- MOHELA — official PSLF servicer for all borrowers
- Nelnet
- EdFinancial
Not sure who services your loans? Log in to studentaid.gov with your FSA ID to see all your federal loan details in one place.
County Student Loan Debt in Tennessee
StudentDebt.ai also publishes county-level student loan debt profiles for Tennesseeusing Urban Institute data. These pages compare borrower share, median balance, delinquency signals, payment amounts, and debt-to-income ratios.
- Weakley County: median balance $25,278, borrower share 15.0%, debt-to-income 39%
- Claiborne County: median balance $21,819, borrower share 13.0%, debt-to-income 37%
- Hardeman County: median balance $19,909, borrower share 14.7%, debt-to-income 34%
- Hawkins County: median balance $23,336, borrower share 8.1%, debt-to-income 34%
Should Tennessee Borrowers Refinance?
Refinancing federal loans into a private loan is irreversible — you permanently lose access to IDR plans, PSLF, federal forbearance, and any future forgiveness programs. For most Tennessee borrowers with federal loans, refinancing is not recommended unless you:
- Work in the private sector (not government or nonprofit)
- Have stable, high income
- Do not need PSLF or IDR forgiveness
- Have loans above approximately 5% interest
If you have private loans, refinancing those is a separate decision and does not affect your federal loan protections.