When do student loans start again? Many students and borrowers are anxiously awaiting information on when student loan payments will begin due to the recent changes in the world and the effects of the epidemic.
The suspension of federal student loan payments has ended after three and a half years. With the implementation of various relief measures, knowing when student loan repayments can resume has become essential for financial planning.
For both debtors and students, remaining up to date on government pronouncements and the most recent policies regarding the resumed student loan payments is crucial.
This post seeks to give a thorough rundown of all the most recent developments and pertinent details about the commencement of student loan repayments.
READ MORE: How To Get Student Loans Debt Relief
When do student loans start again?
Table of Contents
September 1, 2023 marked the return of interest on student loan balances, and October is when payments are due. Contact your student loan servicer by phone or log in to your account online to determine the precise day of your October bill’s due.
President Joe Biden stated at a June press conference, “If you can pay your monthly bills, you should during this period,” following the Supreme Court’s blocking of his plan to waive up to $20,000 in student debt for each borrower.
“But if you cannot, if you miss payments, this on-ramp temporarily removes the threat of default or having your credit harmed, which can hurt borrowers for years to come.”
Vulnerable borrowers have a safety net: the 12-month student loan “on-ramp”. Between Oct. 1, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024, borrowers who don’t make payments won’t default. But interest will still build during the on-ramp, increasing the amount they owe overall.
When did the payment pause start?
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, then-President Donald Trump implemented an emergency pandemic action that resulted in an interest-free student loan payment halt known as forbearance.
It was acceptable for borrowers of federal student loans to miss payments. Autopay loans were discontinued, and efforts to collect delinquent debts were also put on hold. Nobody earned interest.
October marks the recurrence of student debt payments after three years and nine extensions.
When are federal student loans due?
Interest on federal student loans started accruing on September 1. Unless you are in your loan grace period after graduating recently, most borrowers will have to make payments in October.
Your loan terms will determine the details of your monthly payment amount and due date. This information is easily accessible through your monthly bill, by contacting your loan servicer directly, or by visiting your servicer’s website to log in.
READ MORE: 5 Best Graduate Student Loans
Vital things to note about the student loan repayment timeline
The Education Department has approved an extended return-to-normal period for borrowers, starting from September 2023, and running through next year:
1. On September 1, interest on federal student loans started to accrue once more. The student loan moratorium not only stopped payments, but it also stopped interest from accruing, preventing balances from rising while borrowers took a break from loan payments.
2. The first student loan bills are due in October. Although the precise date may change, loan servicers must notify borrowers at least 21 days in advance of the payment due date.
3. The Education Department is providing borrowers with a 12-month “on ramp” that will run from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, in order to help them ease into repayments.
4. The Education Department will not consider loans from borrowers who miss payments to be delinquent or put them into default during the “on ramp” period.
Additionally, the government declared that it will not notify debt collection companies or credit bureaus of any missing payments during this time. (In other words, during this period, late payments on student loans won’t lower credit scores.)
5. Furthermore, the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE plan, is a new and significantly more generous income-driven repayment (abbreviated IDR) plan that is accessible to the majority of students with federal Direct loans, as revealed recently by the Biden administration.
6. The SAVE application is available right now. With the help of this strategy, borrowers will only be required to pay what they can afford, as monthly payments would be based on a portion of their “discretionary income”—that is, their income after essentials.
7. July 2024 will bring other perks, like lowering monthly payments for borrowers of undergraduate loans from 10% to 5% of discretionary income.
