(NewsNation) — For the first time since the pandemic, federal student loan borrowers need to once again start making payments.
Repayments were first paused in March 2020 to provide relief to borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were then twice extended by President Joe Biden. The program also included a 0% interest rate and stopped collections on defaulted loans for all eligible loans.
You should expect a bill that lays out how much you have to pay each month at least 21 days before your due date. It’s likely that most borrowers have received their bill already but if you have not, visit your loan servicer account. Interest started accruing again in September.
Experts say the first step is to log in to your StudentAid.gov account and check who your loan servicer is. Many loan servicers changed during the pandemic, so you might have a different one than you did back in March 2020, Amy Czulada, an outreach and advocacy manager at the Student Borrower Protection Center told The Associated Press.
The repayments are another blow to many borrowers after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the administration’s program which would have forgiven thousands of dollars in loans for those who were eligible.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.