The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 provided fast and direct financial assistance for individuals and small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part of that assistance benefitted student loan borrowers by suspending federal student loan payments, applying a 0% interest rate, and halting collections on defaulted loans.
Initially, the student loan portion of the CARES Act was in effect through September 30, 2020, but subsequent legislation extended it several times. As of September 1, 2023, interest will resume accruing, and your first payment will be due in October.
Understanding how the CARES Act affects student loans
As part of the CARES Act, the U.S. Department of Education automatically paused eligible federal student loan payments and set the interest rate on those loans at 0%, effective March 13, 2020. This payment pause is known as administrative forbearance.
If your student loans are part of that administrative forbearance, you’re allowed to continue making payments. Your loan servicer will apply those payments to your principal balance once you’ve paid any interest or fees that accrued prior to March 13, 2020.
The CARES Act doesn’t apply to private student loans. However, some private student loan lenders, recognizing that the pandemic has financially impacted borrowers, offer options for reducing or suspending payments.
Important information: On Aug. 24, 2022, President Joe Biden announced up to $10,000 forgiveness for federal student loan borrowers ($20,000 for borrowers who received Pell Grants). However, this plan was blocked by the Supreme Court and will not be enacted. Read more.
What this means for you
If you’re not sure what’s happening with your loans, contact your student loan servicer. You can also log into your account at StudentAid.gov to get your current student loan balance, find out who the servicer is for your federally held student loans, and get their contact information. Alternatively, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 800-433-3243.
Tip: If you have private student loans and are struggling to make your payments, call your loan servicer to ask about available relief options. You may also be able to refinance your private student loans to secure a lower interest rate or extend your loan term, thereby reducing your monthly payments.
What happens to existing student loans when the CARES Act pause expires?
Interest will begin accruing on federal student loans starting September 1, 2023, and you should receive a billing statement at least three weeks prior to your first payment due date. Your first payment is expected to be due starting in October.
Automatic payments won’t resume for most borrowers after the pause expires, according to the Department of Education. So if your payments were set up to auto-debit from your bank account before the pause, you’ll likely have to enroll in autopay again. If you opted out of the payment pause and are currently paying via auto-debit, your payments should continue as normal. Log in to your account to confirm your settings so you don’t miss your first payment.
Important: Though student loan payments will resume after September 1, 2023, you still have some leeway. The Department of Education is creating a one-year “on-ramp” period to help borrowers who are unable to afford their payments. During this time, missed, partial, or late payments won’t be reported to credit agencies, and borrowers won’t be subject to loan default or collection attempts.
However, those who can make payments should do so — your loans will still accrue interest during this time, and any missed payments will not count towards opportunities like Public Service Loan Forgiveness or debt forgiveness from income-driven repayment plans.
Interest will also start accruing on your student loan balance again. For most borrowers, the interest rate will be the same as before the administrative forbearance, since most federal loans are fixed-rate loans. However, your interest rate may have changed if you consolidated your student loans during the payment pause. Loans made before July 1, 2006, may also have variable interest rates since interest rates on federal student loans weren’t fixed before that date.
Congress sets interest rates on federal student loans annually, so the rate you’ll pay depends on the type of loans you have and the year your loans were disbursed. You can find current and previous years’ interest rates on federal student loans on the Department of Education’s website.
Interest rates hit all-time lows during the pandemic, but student loans disbursed this year will carry higher interest rates. For undergraduate Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, the current interest rate is 5.50%. For graduate and professional students with Direct Unsubsidized Loans, the interest rate is 7.05%. For parents, graduate students, and professional students with Direct PLUS Loans, the interest rate is currently set at 8.05%.
The table below shows federal student loan interest rates for the coming academic year and recent years:
What this means for you
It’s important to make sure your loan servicer has your current contact information. That way, they can inform you when it’s time to start making payments again and help you set up your payments on auto-debit.
It’s also a good idea to take another look at how student loan repayments will fit into your budget. If you’re concerned about being able to afford your student loan payments after the pause ends, you may be able to lower your monthly payment by enrolling in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, where payments are based on your income and family size.
If you have private student loans, refinancing may help you reduce your interest rate or lower your monthly payments.
Will the payment pause be extended again?
In the past, when the federal government extended the pause, you didn’t have to take any action to get the continued deferral — it was automatic. The Department of Education previously stated that the seventh extension would be the final one, but it was extended again due to litigation surrounding student loan forgiveness.
However, further extensions are now off the table. The Fiscal Responsibility Act, which was enacted as part of the debt ceiling negotiations, codified the restart of student loan payments. Interest will resume accruing on your loans as of September 1, 2023, and payments will be due starting in October.
What this means for you
It may make sense to continue making payments on your federal student loans while payments are paused. With your loans carrying a 0% interest rate, all your payments will go toward paying down the principal, which could shorten your repayment time and mean less interest once the pause ends.
You also have the option to refinance your student loans once the payment pause is lifted. Refinancing can help you secure a lower interest rate or adjust your repayment term. However, if you refinance federal student loans, you’ll lose access to federal benefits such as income-driven repayment plans or forgiveness opportunities. If you will need federal loan protections in the future, it’s best to wait to refinance.
Learn More: Income-Driven Repayment: Which Plan Should You Choose?
Do paused months still count toward PSLF?
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program forgives student loans for borrowers who work in public service, make 120 payments toward their loans, and meet other qualifications.
If you’re currently working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you may wonder whether paused payments count toward your PSLF commitment. The good news is that paused payments do count toward PSLF, provided you meet the other program requirements, as if you had actually made a payment.
With student loan payments paused from March 2020 to September 1, 2023, that’s years of nonpayment for which you’ll get credit as though you’d made monthly payments.
Paused payments also count toward the nine payments required for a student loan rehabilitation arrangement.
What this means for you
Having years without payments count toward PSLF and loan rehabilitation is a significant opportunity for federal student loan borrowers. If your student loans are in default status and you haven’t started the process of rehabilitating your loans, you should consider doing so during the pause.
However, note that, depending on when you initiate your agreement, you may not receive credit for all required payments by the end of the pause. Plus, it’s important not to count on the student loan pause being extended again and ensure you can make the remaining required payments after the pause ends.
Keep in mind: If you’re currently pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you’ll still need to meet other requirements, including:
- Working full time for a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or not-for-profit organization
- Having Direct Loans (or consolidating other federal student loans into a Direct Loan)
- Being on an income-driven repayment plan
- Certifying your employment every year, and when you change employers
- Making 120 qualifying payments
Emergency assistance for student loans
The Department of Education allows federal student loan servicers to grant relief for special circumstances for loans that don’t automatically qualify for administrative forbearance. Examples include loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and federal Perkins Loans held by private lenders or schools rather than the Department of Education.
The borrowers can continue to apply for income-driven repayment or emergency forbearance.
What this means for you
If your student loans don’t automatically qualify for the payment pause and you’re having trouble making payments, contact your loan servicer to discuss your options.
If you have Perkins or FFELP loans that aren’t held by the Department of Education, you may be able to convert them into a federal Direct Consolidation Loan, which would be eligible for the automatic pause. They would also be eligible for an income-based repayment plan or PSLF.
If you have federal student loans that aren’t eligible for PSLF, and you wouldn’t benefit from an income-driven repayment plan, refinancing into a private loan could allow you to lower your interest rate, change your repayment term, or get a smaller monthly payment.
