Getting Ready To Resume or Start Loan Payments

After three years of being on pause, federal student loan repayments will be resuming very soon. Starting September 1, 2023, interest will begin accruing, and payments are set to begin October 1, 2023. Although there was much talk about possible debt relief through student loan forgiveness, the Supreme Court has blocked President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief plan, and as of today there are no current plans in place for widespread debt forgiveness. However, there are newly refined repayment plans that will make it easier than ever to stay on top of your student loan payments. Please see the steps below to prepare yourself for the beginning of repayment.

This repayment pause refers only to loans that were already in repayment or entered repayment during the COVID repayment pause. Please note if you are a student who is currently enrolled in at least half time units, your loan(s) are in in-school deferment and therefore will not be placed in repayment. For more information on repayment of federal student loans please click here. 

Where do I start?

Log into Studentaid.gov or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 800-433-3243 to find out which loan servicer your loans have been assigned to and determine how much you owe. Make sure your contact information is up to date in your profile on your loan servicer's website and in your StudentAid.gov profile. Incorrect contact information could make you miss important updates or payments. If this is the first time you are entering repayment, create an account with your servicer to be able to get important information and make payments.

What if I need to change my payment plan?

You can contact your servicer during business hours at any time to discuss repayment plans options in order to find the plan that works best for you and best fits your budget. Please note as all federal student loan borrowers are also re-enter repayment, there may be longer than normal wait times to speak with a representative.

Although students are assigned a standard 10 year repayment plan for all federal loans, there are other options to consider to ease repaying your student loans. For example, consider talking to your loan servicer about income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, which cap monthly bills at between 5 and 10% of your income and forgive the remaining balance after you make payments for 10-25 number of years depending on how much federal student loan debt you currently have. If you earn below a certain income threshold or have lost your job entirely, you could pay as little as $0 per month under an IDR plan. Your servicer will help see if you qualify for this plan. Information about this plan and others available please see the following link. 

My loans were already in default before the payment pause, what can I do now?

A temporary government program called Fresh Start could help you if you had student loans in default before the payment pause. The program gives these borrowers the opportunity to re-enter repayment in good standing and access IDR plans and other relief. The application is already open; you can sign up for the Fresh Start program today by clicking this link and logging in to your account, or calling the Federal Student Aid Office at 1-800-621-3115.

What if I need help learning about budgeting?

Financial literacy is the foundation of your relationship with money, and it is a lifelong journey of learning. The earlier you start, the better off you will be, because education is the key to success when it comes to money. We recommend all students and graduates look at our Financial Literacy page to learn more about budgeting, credit, savings and much more. We know that everyone learns differently, so we have created video libraries, an article library, and a resource library so that you can learn more about financial literacy in the way that best suits you.