Student Debt
Frozen But Not Forgiven, U.S. Student Loans Are Coming Due Again Soon
Pandemic freeze on payments is set to end in October, with no moves so far toward the loan forgiveness that President Joe Biden campaigned on.
Photographer: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
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For millions of Americans, there’s an unwelcome side of the return to business-as-usual after the pandemic: They’ll have to start repaying their student loans again.
More than 40 million holders of federal loans are due to start making monthly instalments again on Oct. 1, when the freeze imposed as part of Covid-19 relief measures is due to run out. It covered payments worth about $7 billion a month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimated. Their resumption will eat a chunk out of household budgets, in a potential drag on the consumer recovery.