President Biden Extends Federal Student Loan Payment Pause

What You Need to Know

• The hold on federal student loan repayments, interest and collections has been extended until Jan. 31, 2022.

• Lawmakers called on President Joe Biden to use his executive authority to cancel $50,000 of student debt.

• The extension is final.

The Biden administration has extended the moratorium on federal student loan repayments, interest and collections until Jan. 31, 2022, following a series of extensions since March 2020.

The Department of Education said recently that the extension is final, and that the additional time and a definitive end date will allow borrowers to plan for the resumption of payments and reduce the risk of delinquency and defaults after restart.

A few Democrats senators advocated for an even longer extension, urging the President to extend the pause on payments and interest until at least March 31, 2022. But that didn’t happen.

While the pause was not extended to March 31, the extension through January should alleviate some of the pain points.

“The payment pause has been a lifeline that allowed millions of Americans to focus on their families, health, and finances instead of student loans during the national emergency,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

She continued, “As our nation’s economy continues to recover from a deep hole, this final extension will give students and borrowers the time they need to plan for restart and ensure a smooth pathway back to repayment.”