Federal Student Loan Update: September 2026 — What Changed and What It Means for Borrowers

Monthly rundown for borrowers. Current as of October 8, 2026.

If you’re still in SAVE, the deadline that binds you is the one printed on your own servicer notice. September 29 was only the first.

September 2026 brought seven federal student loan developments, and three turn on a date: one passed, one moved, one is still open. The first group of SAVE borrowers reached the end of their 90-day window on September 29. The Department of Education moved the auto-pay enrollment deadline for its 1% interest reduction to December 31. It asked the Office of Management and Budget to approve a PSLF form without an employer attestation tied to a rule a federal judge vacated. Public comments close October 22. Two PSLF problems also came to light: months spent in RAP or the Tiered Standard plan can’t be bought back, and recent qualifying payments are slow to post. A new online portal opened for borrowers in default. And a lawsuit filed September 24 says some loans the Department discharged are still showing up on credit reports as debt.

What happened at the first SAVE deadline?

The first 90-day notices went out July 1, and on September 29 those borrowers reached the end of their window, Adam S. Minsky reported for Forbes. A borrower who doesn’t pick a plan gets moved. Nelnet’s end-of-SAVE FAQ says SAVE borrowers “will be automatically placed in either the Standard Repayment Plan or new Tiered Standard Plan,” depending on their loan disbursement dates. A SAVE Plan FAQ from Federal Student Aid’s ombudsman office, dated September 14, says the new payment amount is sent at least 21 days before the first due date.

The Department is trying to move 7.5 million borrowers off SAVE, The Washington Post reported on September 11. Under Secretary Nicholas Kent said then that “more than 1.32 million borrowers have already selected a new repayment plan,” according to the Post. A Department spokesperson later told Business Insider that 1.5 million had left SAVE as of September 14. Servicers plan to send the remaining notices by the end of 2026.

The month wasn’t tidy. Some borrowers received more than one notice. Scott Buchanan of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance said borrowers receive only one official letter that starts the 90-day clock, according to the Post. Some borrowers saw their dates move later on their servicer’s site, Robert Farrington reported for Forbes on September 29; the Department hadn’t commented.

If you’re still in SAVE: go by the date on your own servicer notice, and keep a copy. If your servicer gives you conflicting guidance you can’t sort out with it, a Department spokesperson told the Post you should submit feedback through the Ombudsman office. What the 90-day notice says covers the timing.

Can I apply for RAP on a paper form now?

Yes. The Department’s paper Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request now lists the Repayment Assistance Plan alongside IBR, PAYE and ICR. Before the update, which Forbes reported on October 1, RAP was available only through the online application. That gap mattered at the deadline: Business Insider reported that some borrowers trying to submit a RAP application online hit a screen that loads indefinitely.

The form also restates a rule anyone taking out new loans should know. A borrower with any loan disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, including a Consolidation Loan, is “only eligible for the Repayment Assistance Plan and/or the Tiered Standard Plan” for all of their Direct Loans.

If the online application won’t go through: the paper form is a fallback, though the form itself says applying online is faster.

Did the auto-pay discount deadline change?

Yes. On September 29 the Department extended enrollment for the 1% interest rate reduction by three months. Borrowers who enroll in auto pay by December 31, 2026, or who are already enrolled, keep the reduction through June 30, 2028, as long as they stay in auto pay and remain eligible. The Department’s court-actions page puts the cutoff at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on December 31. Nearly 2 million borrowers have enrolled, the Department says.

Two groups have a step to take first. Borrowers still in SAVE need to move to a different repayment plan. Borrowers in default must consolidate their eligible loans and apply for a new repayment plan before enrolling in auto pay.

If you meant to enroll by the old September 30 deadline: you still can, through December 31. The 1% auto-pay reduction explains who qualifies.

Can I still buy back PSLF months if I’m on RAP?

Not for months spent in RAP or Tiered Standard. The Department’s PSLF Buyback page now says you can buy back months only if “you weren’t enrolled in either the Repayment Assistance Plan or the Tiered Standard Plan during the month(s) you want to buy back.” Adam S. Minsky first reported the change for Forbes on September 2. The page carries no date for it.

New borrowers lose the most. A borrower whose first loans are disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 can only use RAP or Tiered Standard, so buyback may not be available to them at all.

If you’re weighing RAP against IBR for PSLF: check whether you might ever need buyback before you switch. Do you need PSLF Buyback? walks through who does.

Why aren’t my recent PSLF payments showing up?

Department system delays are keeping recent qualifying payments off borrowers’ records. Minsky reported for Forbes on September 18 that the delays are “preventing the last several months of qualifying PSLF payments from being credited to borrowers.” Some borrowers who already qualified for forgiveness are still being asked to make payments, he wrote.

If you’re close to 120 payments: keep certifying your employment and save your payment history while the tracker is behind. Why your PSLF payment count dropped covers what to keep.

Is the employer attestation coming off the PSLF form?

The Department has asked to remove it. On September 22, it published a Federal Register notice requesting emergency approval to drop an attestation the form had added: a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the employer hasn’t engaged in activity with a “substantial illegal purpose.” A federal judge vacated the rule that required it. “No other changes have been made at this time,” the notice says. Comments close October 22.

What is the Defaulted Loans Support Center?

The Defaulted Loans Support Center is a portal on StudentAid.gov that the Treasury and Education departments launched on September 30. Borrowers in default can use it to compare their options, apply online to rehabilitate or consolidate their loans, make a payment, and review repayment plans. Treasury’s announcement says it replaces “mail- and fax-based processes.” A borrower can also consolidate there and then enroll in auto pay for the 1% reduction. With borrowers already reporting website glitches and processing errors, Minsky noted for Forbes, it’s too soon to know whether the portal will have similar problems.

If your loans are in default: start at the portal’s official address, studentaid.gov/default-support.

What is Woods v. U.S. Department of Education?

Woods v. U.S. Department of Education is a proposed class action that two borrowers filed on September 24 in federal court in Washington, D.C. The lawsuit alleges the Department is still reporting loans it discharged through group borrower-defense decisions as active debt, in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The case covers those group discharges only, at schools including Corinthian Colleges, ITT Technical Institute, the Art Institutes and Ashford University. No ruling has been reported.

If a forgiven loan still shows a balance: Forgiven loan still on your credit report? walks through disputing it with the credit bureaus. We don’t handle discharge claims or file disputes for borrowers.

What to watch in October 2026

• October 22: public comments close on removing the employer attestation from the PSLF form.
• Your 90-day date: SAVE notices go out in waves through the end of 2026, so each borrower’s deadline depends on their notice date.
• December 31: auto-pay enrollment for the 1% interest reduction closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.

One correction to the August issue: it said no fix had been announced for StudentAid.gov describing the Graduated plans backwards. NASFAA reported on August 28 that the Department had corrected the display. The August 2026 issue now says so, and every issue is listed at Federal Student Loan News.

Why Finnita

September’s lesson: keep every notice and confirmation, because the dates on them are the ones you’ll need to point to. Only 11% of borrowers who try on their own succeed.

Finnita is a specialist student loan enrollment service that focuses exclusively on federal repayment and forgiveness programs. We enroll borrowers into the programs that fit their situation, using a proprietary algorithm and human analysts, and handle the annual recertification every year after that. It is offered through an employer, and the borrower comes to us and pays the fee. Employers pay nothing.

The Finnita figures that follow are service-wide aggregates across all customers and all programs, not projections for any individual. 98% of Finnita customers are successfully enrolled. Finnita customers save an average of $468/month across all enrollees. 100% refund if we can’t enroll you.

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