Biden extends payment pause on federal student loans until September

The Biden administration has grappled with ending the pause on student loan payments as the economy’s recovery from pandemic lows continues.

President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday another extension of the payment pause on federal student loans.

The break has spanned more than 24 months and two presidencies. The Federal Reserve has found that borrowers have saved $200 billion.

The relief policy freezing the bills of tens of millions of Americans with education debt was first established by the former Trump administration in March 2020.

According to an analysis by higher-education expert Mark Kantrowitz, nearly all borrowers have used the pause, with just a small percentage continuing to pay.

Biden said it would be risky to resume student loan payments now that the country has improved.

White House expected to extend student loan payment pause through August

Biden said in a statement that the economy was disrupted by the Pandemic.

Biden said that recent research from the Federal Reserve predicted a rise in delinquencies and defaults when the bills begin again.

Biden is under a lot of pressure to forgive student debt. He promised to cancel $10,000 for everyone.

Schumer and Warren want him to cancel more than $50,000 per borrower.

More than 70% of Latino and Black voters are in favor of the president forgiving student debt, according to a recent poll.

The White House wanted to make a decision on loan forgiveness before turning back payments.

The president will either extend the pause or look at what we should do about student debt.

Student loans were a big challenge for many households. Families are saddled with more education debt than credit card debt.

40 million people in the U.S. have student loans, and more than a quarter are past due.

Scott Buchanan is the executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, a trade group for federal student loan servicers.

When the government keeps changing its mind, millions of borrowers will miss out.

The September restart date is unlikely to be taken too seriously by borrowers.

The U.S. Department of Education has extended the payment pause and interest waivers so many times that nobody will believe them when they actually restart repayment.

They need to stop sitting on the fence about student loan forgiveness.

How will student loan payments affect you? If you're interested in a story, please email me at annie.nova@nbcuni.com.