After a three-and-a half-year reprieve, interest begins accruing on federal student loans again Friday, marking the official end to COVID-19 relief for around 43 million borrowers. The first payment will be due next month.
Before then, borrowers will need to doublecheck their loan info. A lot of things have changed over the COVID-19 pandemic, including, in some cases, loan servicers and balances. There is also a new income-driven repayment plan that struggling borrowers may want to sign up for ahead of their first payment due date.
While U.S. household balance sheets are, on the whole, in better shape than pre-pandemic, the return of student loan payments is bound to bring financial pain, at least for some, experts say. Households are already using up their excess cash to pay for inflated prices, and consumer debt has been increasing as well.
"The end of forbearance on student loans is going to create payment shock to millions of Americans who are already experiencing a gap between income and expenses," Andrew Housser, co-founder of personal loan site Achieve, tells Fortune. "It is imperative for consumers dealing with student loan debt to have a strong budget in place—one that covers each month for the next 12 months, and then projects out for the life of the loan."
On top of that, payments will also start up again just as several other pandemic-era benefit programs expire, including for child care, health care, and increased food stamps. Lower income households, in particular, could be pushed "to the brink of financial insecurity," writes the Bipartisan Policy Center.
But even high earners aren't exempt from the impending financial stress. More than 60% of borrowers say they expect to miss at least one payment when they resume, according to Morning Consult, including 71% of those earning at least $100,000. They also plan to cut back on spending and save less.
"Saving for retirement seems trivial when student loans loom over our heads. And starting a family seems impossible with the cost of childcare on the rise," one borrower earning $125,000 a year previously told Fortune. "I recognize that I’m extremely privileged, but I still feel mounting pressure when it comes to our finances."
The Department of Education has never undertaken something like restarting payments for 43 million people all at the same time—there are bound to be hiccups and confusion in the weeks to come. That said, here are three steps you can take now to ensure the process is as smooth as possible.
1 - Log in to your Federal Student Aid account
To check your balance and verify your loan servicer, login to your Federal Student Aid account on studentaid.gov, click on the “My Aid” section, and then click on "View loan servicer details." Make sure your contact information is up to date. Millions of borrower accounts changed servicers over the pandemic—in fact, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates more than 40% will have a new servicer—so it is crucial to doublecheck you know who holds yours.
Once you've done that, you can also login to your servicer's website—some of the companies include FedLoan, Mohela, Nelnet, and Great Lakes Educational Loan Services—and make sure your personal information is current there, too.
Double check your loan balance on your servicer's site against what is on the Department of Education's website. If your loans were transferred, it is possible some details got mixed up in the process—especially if you have qualified for some type of loan forgiveness from the Education Department.
It is also possible that your balance increased if you requested a refund for payments related to President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, which was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this summer. If you received a refund, you will now owe that amount back.
2 - Pick a repayment plan
While the standard plan for borrowers is a 10-year repayment plan, you may be able to enroll in an IDR plan to lower your monthly payments. These plans base your bill on your income and family size, and the latest and most generous from the Biden Administration is called the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan.
"Borrowers should also get an idea of what their payments will be, and if they can’t afford it look for lower payment options and apply for those now," Betsy Mayotte, president of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors, previously told Fortune. "Read all the things. We’re all guilty of maybe not opening our mail right away or letting emails go by. Now is not the time to do that."
To figure out which plan is best for you, you can use the Department of Education's loan simulator tool, which shows you how much you will pay under each plan based on your personal income and family information. You can also call your servicer to learn about your options (although servicers have been known to give borrowers incorrect or incomplete information—the DoE's tool is the safer bet).
"An income-driven repayment plan can help borrowers make their payments in full and on time without needing to worry as much about extra interest piling up," Jacob Channel, senior economist at LendingTree, previously told Fortune.
Additionally, opting into auto-pay will save you 0.25% on your interest rate. You can sign up for this via your servicer's website. Even those who were on auto-pay before the pandemic will need to opt into a repayment plan and auto-pay plan again; a lot of things change over three and a half years.
3 - Review your budget
Another crucial step to take ahead of payments resuming is to review your budget, experts say. This can help relieve some of the "psychological impact" of payments coming due again, says Joseph Catanzaro, a certified financial planner at Oak & Stone Capital Advisors.
"Many borrowers have come to rely on the payment pause as a way to manage their debt and avoid financial stress," Catanzaro says. "The ending of the payment pause could lead to feelings of anxiety, stress, and uncertainty for borrowers."
If you have multiple loans with different interest rates, one way to make things easier on yourself is to consolidate them into a single loan, says Dan Casey, a registered investment advisor at Bridgeriver Advisors. Just make sure you are consolidating them with the federal government and not a private company so you remain eligible for federal loan protections.
"This could ensure you pay one overall interest rate, instead of multiple different rates, which could all be significantly different," Casey says.
What to do if you can't afford payments
There are a few options for borrowers who are worried they won't be able to afford to make their payments. The first is to sign up for an IDR like the SAVE plan to reduce the amount due each month.
Additionally, those who apply for the SAVE plan will not need to make a payment until they hear whether or not they have been approved for it. That means another potential short-term forbearance.
As a last resort, borrowers can skip their payments altogether without the usual consequences. The Biden Administration announced a 12-month "grace period," during which missed payment information won't be sent to credit bureaus (that said, the Education Department says credit scores could still be impacted), and borrowers will not be considered delinquent if they don’t pay. Interest will accrue, but it won’t capitalize.
During this "on ramp" period, your servicer will automatically apply a forbearance to your account if you miss a payment. This will last through Sept. 30, 2024.
