ED Offers Interest Rate Reduction for Autopay Enrollers

On June 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education announced that federal student loan borrowers enrolled in autopay will be eligible for a 1% interest rate reduction beginning July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. Borrowers already enrolled in autopay will automatically see a 0.75% reduction in addition to the 0.25% reduction borrowers enrolled in autopay already receive. Borrowers who are not yet enrolled must do so by September 30, 2026. This temporary reduction aims to incentivize borrowers to enroll in the autopay program, which dropped from over 80% of borrowers pre-pandemic to just 40% today.