After a three-year pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal student loan payments are expected to restart this fall.
Student loan interest will resume Sept. 1 while payments will be due starting in October, according to the Federal Student Aid website, an office of the U.S. Department of Education.
The announcement came years after student loan payments were first suspended in March 2020 when the pandemic shut down the U.S. economy. That suspension was extended five times since then.
But this month, Congress approved a bill prohibiting the education secretary from making extensions without congressional approval.
The restart will now impact about 43 million borrowers who collectively owe over a trillion dollars in student loan debt, NPR found.
“We recognize that the return to repayment would result in significant financial hardships for many borrowers,” a U.S. Department of Education spokesperson said in an email. “We will also be in direct touch with borrowers and ramping up our communications with servicers well before repayment resumes to ensure borrowers and their families are receiving accurate and timely information about the return to repayment.”
Those with federal student loans are also waiting on a Supreme Court ruling, which will determine the legality of the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, announced in August, that would eliminate more than $400 billion in federal student debt.
The one-time federal student loan debt relief program would permit individuals who are single and earn under $125,000 to qualify for $10,000 in debt cancellation. Married couples who file taxes jointly qualify if their income is under $250,000.
It is based on the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003.
The HEROES Act allows the Education secretary to waive regulations related to student loans during times of war or national emergency. It was used by both the Trump and Biden administrations to initially pause federal student loan payments and interest. It was also used to issue the extensions.
A ruling on the proposal is expected by the end of the month.
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