Here's what student loan borrowers can do now to avoid struggling when payments resume

When billions of dollars in student loan payments come due in October, economists and advocates warn it could be a jarring experience for tens of millions of people.

However, they say, there’s still time to prepare and even apply to see if you can keep your payments as low as they have been: nothing. That will be critical for many borrowers, who haven’t had to make student loan payments in about 3½ years, since the pause was first created by the Trump administration at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During that time, about half of the 43 million people holding some $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt have borrowed even more – in the form of car loans or mortgages or credit cards, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said this month. Some of them are falling behind on those payments even without having added a student loan bill to their monthly budgets. And for about 40% of borrowers, the company that handles their payments will be different than before the pause. That could be confusing for some borrowers.

Plus, a legion of borrowers whose loans only came to be after the pandemic set in have no experience making payments at all. Some observers worry loan servicers will struggle to keep up with debt holders’ questions given the federal Education Department didn’t get any more money this year even with so much going on in the student loan arena. (The end of the payment pause, extended by the Biden administration repeatedly, is separate from the U.S. Supreme Court’s forthcoming ruling on cases challenging President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in loan debt.)

Here are some factors for borrowers to keep in mind as they prepare to start paying off student loans again.

What is the state of student loan borrowers now?

Borrowers have more debt than they were before the payment pause. Half the borrowers who will have to start making payments in a few months have at least 10% more debt than they did before the pause, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said this month. Credit card debt and auto loans are part of what’s led to a rise in borrowers’ debt loads, but on top of that, the CFPB said, interest rates on other debt could be rising, adding to borrowers’ debt. When it comes to federal student loans, interest rates are generally tied to the when the loan originated and that rate is doesn’t change, so recent hikes in interest rates would affect only the newest borrowers.
Some borrowers are already behind on other bills even though student loan payments haven’t kicked in. About 8% of borrowers haven’t been able to keep up with other loan payments, especially credit card or car loan debt. The CFPB said it’s critical they reach out to their loan servicer now to try to get help before their monthly bills rise with the addition of a student loan payment.

Money to build homes or pay other debts:How the student loan payment pause changed people’s lives

Who is my student loan servicer?

Several larger servicers – companies that handle billing and other loan-related processes in this case on behalf of the Education Department – have exited their contracts with the department over the last three years. The result: lots of loan transfers, which the CFPB warned “could complicate the transition to repayment” for the millions affected.

While many transfers will go smoothly, many others likely won’t. Borrowers may have to create new logins, re-enroll in autopay and/or update their payment information.

Nearly half – more than 2 in 5 – of the borrowers in the CFPB analysis are set to return to student loan payments with a new servicer.

Thus far, more than 17 million student loan accounts have been transferred to different servicers since the pauses began. By the time payments return in the fall, the CFPB expects more than 30 million accounts will have been assigned a new servicer.

“Unless there is a robust, proactive and targeted campaign to borrowers, many may be unprepared to restart or begin repayment,” said Nate Blanchard, the director of financial services at Western Governors University, in a statement. Blanchard serves on a task force through the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administers aimed at preparing borrowers for the resumption of federal student loan repayments.

“The reality of the situation is loan servicers may not have the ability to answer every call, email or chat in a timely manner, which may exacerbate the problem.”

Borrowers who are unsure whether their servicer has changed or don’t know their servicer can check through the StudentAid.gov portal. While there, make sure your contact information – including your mailing and email addresses – is current.

It’s also a good habit to download and file away key records associated with your existing servicer, such as payment histories and any other important correspondence. That way you’ll have that documentation saved in the event your servicer changes and you lose access to your old account.

Watch out for student loan scammers

As the end of the pause approaches, borrowers should also be on guard for scams involving their payments or their servicer. The payment pause has been extended repeatedly, and each time an end date to a pause has approached, borrowers have been flooded with emails, calls and text messages related to their loans, CFPB said.

Given so many borrowers will be working with a new servicer, the CFPB advises that borrowers not engage with anyone who reaches out about their loans. Even if the call seems legitimate, go to the Department of Education’s website, verify who is handling your loan, then reach out yourself.

What are the options for borrowers worried about making payments?

The single-biggest step borrowers can take is to see whether they qualify for something called income-driven repayment. You don’t have to wait to apply until payments resume. You don’t even have to know who is servicing your loan, the CFPB said.

These plans align borrowers’ payments to their income and may be especially beneficial for parents and people with larger households. Depending on a borrower’s salary, they could reduce monthly payments to as little as $0. The plans do require an application, and then annual checks of income. But for those who qualify, any debt still outstanding after 20 or 25 years may be forgiven.

The Federal Student Aid office says an application takes only about 10 minutes to complete.

Even if you’ve never been a part of a student loan repayment plan that matches payments with income, the FSA is conducting one-time reviews of borrowers’ accounts to see if they should have qualified for income-driven repayment in the past. A 2021 report from the National Consumer Law Center found that decades after income-based repayment plans were created, only 32 people had ever had their debt forgiven under the plans.