Mar 30, 2020
Student loan borrowers can suspend payments for 60 days
without interest
Borrowers with federal student loans will be
able to pause their payments for two months without interest
accruing, President Donald Trump and the Education Department said
Friday. The move is an effort to help those financially affected by
the spread of the coronavirus. Trump had announced last week the
government would waive interest on federally held loans last week,
but few details had been available. The suspension will be in
effect for at least 60 days, and it started on March 13. "Right
now, everyone should be focused on staying safe and healthy, not
worrying about their student loan balance growing," said Education
Secretary Betsy DeVos in a news release. "I commend President Trump
for his quick action on this issue, and I hope it provides
meaningful help and peace of mind to those in need.”Colleges have
gone online:In two weeks, the future of college
has become uncertain, thanks to coronavirusBorrowers will have to
contact their loan servicers to request the pause in payments. It's
unclear how quickly those agencies will be able to respond to those
requests.Those who still want to make their payments can do so. The
payment in that case would be applied directly to the principal
balance, which may allow some borrowers to pay off their loan more
quickly. Those in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program who
have to make 120 payments before their loan is forgiven may also be
interested in continuing to make payments, the release said.
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The department also authorized suspension of automatic payments for
borrowers more than 31 days delinquent as of March 13, or anyone
who becomes 31 days delinquent.
Pausing loan payments is one of the many financial measures
lawmakers have considered to ease the financial burden caused by
the coronavirus. Some Senate Democrats have proposed
that the Education Department be authorized to make payments on
borrowers' loans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's plan called for a pause for
three months and would give DeVos the ability to suspend payments
for an additional three months on top of that.