Student loan restart: Payments to begin again in 12 days as federal pause ends
Jack Birle
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Borrowers who have outstanding debt on their student loans will have their payments resume beginning next month as the COVID-era federal pause ends.
The Department of Education says that the amount borrowers owe and the due date will be sent out 21 days before the payment is due.
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Payments for student loans have been paused since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began to affect the United States, and the pause has been extended numerous times by the Biden administration, but the payments are resuming beginning in October.
Interest on outstanding student loans resumed on Sept. 1, 2023, after being paused since March 13, 2020.
The Education Department also says if borrowers are unable to begin paying their loans off when payments resume in October, a “temporary on-ramp” will exist until Sept. 30, 2024, so that borrowers are not reported as being delinquent on their payments.
“Payments are still due, and interest will continue to accrue (add up). We will not report you as delinquent during the on-ramp, but we do not control how credit scoring companies factor in missed or delayed payments,” the Department of Education said on its website.
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Loan plans eligible for the “temporary off-ramp” include direct loans, Federal Family Education Loan Program loans held by the Education Department, Federal Perkins Loans held by the Education Department, defaulted Federal Family Education Loan Program loans not held by the Education Department, and defaulted Health Education Assistance loans, per the Department of Education.
In addition to this “on-ramp,” borrowers who graduated in the spring will not have to begin making payments until their grace period ends, which is usually six to nine months after graduating from college.