Leaving SAVE? Your 90-Day Student Loan Deadline, RAP vs IBR, and the 1% Autopay Cut to Lock In by Dec. 31

Millions of federal student loan borrowers are opening "choose a new plan" notices this fall. Your personal 90-day clock starts on the date of your own servicer notice. Illustrative photo.

If you were one of the roughly 7 million federal student loan borrowers parked in the SAVE plan, the waiting is over. A federal court order ended SAVE on March 10, 2026, and since July loan servicers have been sending notices in waves telling SAVE borrowers to pick a new repayment plan within 90 days. The earliest deadlines started landing at the end of September, and more notices are going out through the end of the year.

Here is the part that costs people money: if you do nothing by your deadline, the Department of Education will place you on a fixed Standard or Tiered Standard plan. For many borrowers that means a monthly bill several hundred dollars higher than an income-driven option would charge. This guide walks through how to find your real deadline, how the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) works, how it compares with IBR and the fixed plans, and the 1% autopay rate cut you can still lock in before December 31, 2026.

Quick note: this is general education, not individual advice. Your servicer and StudentAid.gov set the official numbers for your loans.

First, find the one deadline that matters: yours

There is no single national SAVE deadline. The Department told a federal court in June that no borrower would be required to leave the SAVE forbearance before September 29, 2026, and that each borrower gets at least 90 days from the date of their own notice. Servicers are sending those notices in batches. Nelnet's FAQ now says its borrowers will receive notices by the end of 2026, and MOHELA has described notices going out from July through October. That puts the last plan-selection deadlines around late March 2027.

To complicate things, some Nelnet borrowers reported in late September that the deadline shown in their online account moved two to four weeks later than the date in their letter. The Department has not announced any change. The safe move is simple:

• Log in to your servicer account (Nelnet, MOHELA, Aidvantage, EdFinancial or CRI) and look for the SAVE transition message and date.
• Check the date on the notice itself, whether it came by email or mail, and count 90 days from that date.
• Use the earlier of the two dates as your working deadline, and screenshot what you see.
• Aim to apply at least two to three weeks early. Applications can take time to process, and you want a cushion if your servicer asks for income documents.

If you have not received a notice yet, you are not late. You can still switch plans now through StudentAid.gov, and doing it early ends the uncertainty.

What happens if you miss it

Borrowers who do not choose a plan within their 90-day window are moved automatically to either the Standard Repayment Plan or the new Tiered Standard Plan, depending on their loans. Neither payment is based on income. On a $40,000 balance at 6.5%, a 10-year Standard payment is about $454 a month, and a 15-year Tiered Standard payment is about $348. For someone earning $45,000 a year with two kids, an income-driven payment could be closer to $50. That gap is why the deadline matters.

Being placed on a fixed plan is not permanent; you can still apply to switch afterward. But you may face a few months of higher bills while the change is processed, and missed or late payments can hurt your credit.

Your realistic options after SAVE

Which plans you can pick depends on one date: whether you have any federal Direct Loan first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, including a new Direct Consolidation Loan.

• All of your loans were made before July 1, 2026: you generally keep the older menu for now, including the 10-year Standard, Graduated and Extended plans, Income-Based Repayment (IBR), and the new RAP. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) are being phased out and must be left by July 1, 2028, so they are not a long-term home.
• You have any loan made on or after July 1, 2026: the law limits all of your loans to two choices, RAP or Tiered Standard. That is also why consolidating right now can shrink your menu; a new consolidation loan counts as a new loan.

For most former SAVE borrowers, the real decision is between RAP and IBR, with a fixed plan making sense mainly for higher earners who want to pay the debt off quickly.

How the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) works

RAP launched on July 1, 2026, under the 2025 budget law (Public Law 119-21). It is simpler than older income-driven plans, but it counts your income differently.

• Payment is a percentage of your total AGI. RAP uses your full adjusted gross income, not "discretionary" income above a poverty-line allowance. The rate starts at 1% of AGI for incomes over $10,000 and up to $20,000, then rises one point for each additional $10,000, reaching 10% for AGI above $100,000.
• Divide by 12, then subtract $50 per dependent. Each dependent claimed on your tax return cuts the monthly payment by $50.
• $10 minimum. Unlike older plans, there is no $0 payment. Borrowers with AGI of $10,000 or less pay $10 a month.
• Unpaid interest is waived. If your on-time payment does not cover the month's interest, the leftover interest is not charged. Your balance cannot grow because of a low payment.
• Guaranteed principal progress. If your on-time payment reduces principal by less than $50, the government adds a matching principal payment so your principal goes down by the lesser of $50 or your payment amount.
• Forgiveness after 30 years. Any balance left after 360 qualifying payments is forgiven. RAP payments also count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

Estimated RAP payments at different incomes, with and without two dependents. Because RAP is based on total income, two people with very different balances can owe the same monthly amount. Chart: Dollar Lane, from the published RAP formula.

Three quick RAP examples

Borrower	RAP math	Monthly payment
Single parent, AGI $32,000, 1 dependent	3% × $32,000 = $960 ÷ 12 = $80, minus $50	$30
Single, AGI $55,000, no dependents	5% × $55,000 = $2,750 ÷ 12	$229
Married filing jointly, AGI $75,000, 2 dependents	7% × $75,000 = $5,250 ÷ 12 = $437.50, minus $100	$337.50

Now look at the middle borrower with a $40,000 balance at 6.5%. Monthly interest is about $216.67, so the $229.17 RAP payment covers it and knocks only $12.50 off principal. RAP's matching payment then adds about $37.50 so principal drops by the full $50 that month. If that same borrower also gets the 1% autopay discount (more on that below), interest falls to about $183.33 and roughly $45.84 of each payment goes to principal on its own.

RAP vs IBR: which usually wins?

IBR is the older income-driven plan that most SAVE borrowers with pre-July 2026 loans can still choose. It takes 10% of discretionary income (your AGI minus 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your family size) if you first borrowed on or after July 1, 2014, or 15% for older borrowers. Payments are capped at what you would pay on the 10-year Standard plan, and forgiveness comes after 20 or 25 years. The 2025 law also removed IBR's old "partial financial hardship" entry test.

Feature	RAP	IBR	Tiered Standard
Payment based on	1%–10% of total AGI, minus $50 per dependent	10% or 15% of income above 150% of poverty line	Fixed; set by balance
Minimum payment	$10	Can be $0	Generally at least $50
Interest that isn't covered	Waived on on-time payments	Limited subsidy; balance can grow	Not applicable (payment covers it)
Forgiveness	After 30 years	After 20 or 25 years	None
Counts for PSLF	Yes	Yes	No
Term	Up to 30 years	20 or 25 years	10, 15, 20 or 25 years (under $25k, $25k–$49,999, $50k–$99,999, $100k+)

Some general patterns:

• Lower incomes, especially with kids: RAP's $50-per-dependent credit and interest waiver often make it the cheapest and safest option, even with the $10 minimum.
• Very low income, no dependents: IBR can produce a $0 payment where RAP charges $10. That difference is small, but IBR's balance can keep growing with unpaid interest.
• Large balances relative to income (grad school debt): IBR's 20- or 25-year forgiveness can beat RAP's 30 years. Run both in the Loan Simulator.
• Working toward PSLF: pick whichever qualifying plan has the lower payment; after 120 qualifying payments the rest is forgiven either way. Avoid Tiered Standard, which does not count.
• Higher earners who want to be debt-free: a fixed plan, plus extra payments, may cost less in total interest than a long income-driven plan.

The 1% autopay cut: lock it in by December 31

Turning on autopay with your servicer by Dec. 31, 2026, qualifies eligible Direct Loans for a 1-percentage-point rate cut through June 30, 2028. Illustrative photo.

Federal Direct Loan borrowers have long received a 0.25-point interest rate reduction for enrolling in autopay. Since July 1, 2026, that discount has been temporarily raised to 1 full percentage point. The Education Department originally set a September 30 enrollment deadline, then on September 29 extended it to 11:59 p.m. Eastern on December 31, 2026. Borrowers who qualify keep the larger discount through June 30, 2028, as long as they stay on autopay and in good standing.

• Who qualifies: Direct Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012, that are in repayment. That includes borrowers moving out of SAVE into a new plan.
• Already on autopay? You were bumped to the full 1% automatically.
• Not on autopay? Log in to your servicer and turn it on. Make sure the linked checking account can cover the draft so a bounced payment does not knock you out.
• In default? You will need to get the loans back in good standing first, for example through consolidation or rehabilitation, before the discount applies.

On a $40,000 balance at 6.5% on a 10-year schedule, dropping to 5.5% lowers the payment from about $454 to about $434, roughly $20 a month. On RAP, the payment is set by income, but the lower rate means more of every dollar hits principal.

A 7-step checklist to leave SAVE without overpaying

1. Find your deadline in your servicer account and on the notice, and write down the earlier date.
2. Pull your latest tax return. RAP and IBR both use AGI; StudentAid.gov can usually pull it from the IRS with your consent.
3. Run the Loan Simulator on StudentAid.gov for RAP, IBR and the fixed plans. Compare the monthly payment and the total paid.
4. Check your loan dates before consolidating or borrowing again. A loan made on or after July 1, 2026, limits you to RAP or Tiered Standard.
5. Apply for your chosen plan on StudentAid.gov at least two to three weeks before your deadline, and save the confirmation.
6. Turn on autopay by December 31 to lock in the 1% rate cut through mid-2028.
7. Watch the first bill. Confirm the plan name, amount and due date. If anything looks off, contact your servicer in writing right away.

PSLF borrowers: two extra checks

Months spent in the SAVE litigation forbearance generally did not count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness. If you are close to 120 payments, look at the PSLF buyback option on StudentAid.gov, which lets eligible borrowers pay for certain past forbearance months so they count. And when you leave SAVE, choose a PSLF-qualifying plan such as RAP, IBR or the 10-year Standard plan. Keep submitting your employment certification so your count stays current.

Watch out for "student loan help" scams

Every big change in federal student loans brings a wave of companies offering to "handle your SAVE transition" for a fee. Applying for RAP, IBR or autopay through StudentAid.gov or your servicer is free. Never pay an upfront fee, never share your FSA ID password, and be wary of anyone promising instant forgiveness. You can report suspicious offers to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

The bottom line

The end of SAVE is not a reason to panic, but it is a reason to act on your own schedule instead of the Department's. Find your personal 90-day date, compare RAP and IBR with your actual income and family size, apply a few weeks early, and turn on autopay before December 31 to lock in the 1% rate cut. Doing nothing is the only option that is almost guaranteed to cost you more.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education press release on next steps for SAVE borrowers; CNBC (July 6, 2026) on servicer exit notices; Forbes Advisor and WAFB (Sept. 29–30, 2026) on the autopay deadline extension; MOHELA and Edfinancial RAP and autopay pages on StudentAid.gov; Congressional Research Service report IF13075 on RAP in P.L. 119-21; Mass.gov guidance on the Tiered Standard plan. Payment figures are Dollar Lane calculations for illustration.