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Education Department Extends Auto-Pay Deadline to Dec. 31, 2026

By Drooid · Oct 4, 2026, 2:35 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

The U.S. Education Department extended the student-loan interest-rate reduction deadline to Dec. 31, 2026.
Borrowers must enroll in auto-pay on federal loans by Dec. 31, 2026 to receive a 1% rate cut.
About 40% of borrowers were already on auto-pay and nearly 2 million enrolled after the reduction was announced.
Auto-pay enrollment also unlocks the Repayment Assistance Plan, which stops interest when payments are on time.

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Story summary

The U.S. Education Department extended the student-loan interest-rate reduction deadline to Dec. 31, 2026.
Borrowers must enroll in auto-pay on federal loans by Dec. 31, 2026 to receive a 1% rate cut.
About 40% of borrowers were already on auto-pay and nearly 2 million enrolled after the reduction was announced.
Auto-pay enrollment also unlocks the Repayment Assistance Plan, which stops interest when payments are on time.