Pause on Federal Student Loan Repayments Extended
The Department of Education announced on December 22 that it would extend the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections through May 1, 2022.
When COVID-19 began to wreak havoc with the lives of millions of people in March 2020, Congress passed legislation to temporarily suspend federal student loan payments. In addition, borrowers were not charged interest on their loans and debt collection efforts were suspended. The pause was extended several times and was due to be lifted on January 31, 2022.
However, with the emergence of the Omicron variant, the Department decided to extend the pause for 90 days through May 1, 2022, to provide additional relief to borrowers who continue to face financial hardships due to pandemic. According to the Department, the pause on student loan payments will help 41 million borrowers save $5 billion per month.
It is unclear if the Biden Administration will extend the pause after May 1.
Tags: federal issues
