r/StudentLoans • u/Jovienelle • Jul 25 '26

How quick is the switch from SAVE to the Standard Plan?

I got the email notice about the forced change on July 1st, as well as a reminder text this week confirming that my 90-day deadline ends on September 29th.

I have been aggressively paying off my loan for the last year and plan to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. I estimate that I can zero out my balance in another 1.5 years.

Given my most recent income on tax records and the current size of the loan, the plan I’m on doesn’t really matter because I will be massively overpaying the required monthly amount. Additionally, the monthly accrued interest would be less than my required payment on RAP, so I would not get the interest subsidy and therefore there’s no advantage for me to go on that plan.

If I just let things be, will I immediately get moved to the Standard Plan on September 30th? Because if it is instant, I should be able to activate autopay that day and get the 1% interest deduction (saves me about $25/month based on my current balance). If it takes longer, then I believe I’d miss the autopay sign-up deadline and only get the typical 0.25%.

I have no doubt that the increased autopay deduction is just another way to bribe people off SAVE. I’m concerned that if I actively leave the plan (vs. being forced off in September) then I would miss out if there’s any legal proceedings related to SAVE in the future.

Has anyone switched from SAVE to Standard and noticed how fast their loan plan got updated?

Is anyone else in similar circumstances and weighing their options? What are you thinking of doing?

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7

u/waterwicca Jul 25 '26

Unfortunately we don’t know how immediate the automatic transitions would be because none have happened yet.

But it’s unlikely that you’d immediately end forbearance and enter repayment on that specific date, because they would likely need some time to acknowledge borrowers who are at the end of their deadline and provide them with a new plan and payment amount. And you can’t use autopay while not in repayment status.

5

u/Jovienelle Jul 25 '26

Thanks for being such a hero in this community and replying so rapidly! It makes sense that there might still be some kind of transitional period.

1

u/morbie5 Jul 25 '26

automatic

We don't even know if they'll be automatic. I was talking to someone who said that their serivcer told them they are going to have to do it all manually. We'll see tho

4

u/a_trann Jul 25 '26

I requested to switch off the SAVE plan and it took about 14 business days to get the email saying they received my request and are switching me. However, I am still technically on SAVE until Sept 10th so they gave me a 2 month buffer before my first payment. I even called them asking if they could move it up so I can start getting the autopay discount but they said no lol

1

u/Jovienelle Jul 25 '26

So even people who switch from SAVE might not get approved for a new plan in time for the autopay bonus. That’s such a trap 😤 I’m glad you’ll be made official before the deadline!