Student loan restart: Payments to begin again in five days as federal pause ends

The COVID-19-era pause on student loan repayments is ending in five days, as beginning in October, borrowers will have to resume their monthly student loan payments.

As student loan payments begin to resume for millions of borrowers, the amount borrowers owe and the due date for the payment will be sent out 21 days before the first payment is due, according to the Department of Education.

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When the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States in full force in March 2020, the federal government paused student loan payments, and the pause has been extended numerous times by the Biden administration. As the pandemic has ended in the United States, payments are set to resume beginning in October.

Interest on outstanding student loans already resumed on Sept. 1, 2023, after it had been paused since March 13, 2020.

While the payments have been paused for more than three years, if borrowers are unable to begin paying their loans off when payments resume in October, a “temporary on-ramp” will exist until Sept. 30, 2024. This solution was created by the Department of Education so that borrowers are not reported as being delinquent on their payments.

This temporary solution is available for borrowers with direct loans, Federal Family Education Loan Program loans held by the Education Department, Federal Perkins Loans held by the Education Department, defaulted Federal Family Education Loan Program loans not held by the Education Department, and defaulted Health Education Assistance loans, according to the Department of Education.

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“Payments are still due, and interest will continue to accrue (add up). We will not report you as delinquent during the on-ramp, but we do not control how credit scoring companies factor in missed or delayed payments,” the Department of Education said on its website.

Not all borrowers will resume payments in October, as those who graduated in the spring will not have to begin making payments until their grace period ends, which is usually six to nine months after graduating from college.