GREENSBORO, N.C. — In less than 60 days, federal student loan payments will resume for millions of Americans.
For nearly two years, a pandemic relief program put a hold on federal loans and interest. Reports show the average student loan monthly payment is $393 with some borrowers paying up to $2,553 a month.
Borrowers like DeMarco King of Kernersville said the pause on payments allowed him to cover other expenses. He said he does have some concerns with payments resuming on Feb. 1.
“I don’t know how much they’ll want each month,” King said. “I’m not too worried because I hear there are a lot of forgiveness programs out there that you may be able to qualify for, so I’m going to definitely try to get one of those.”
Mary Jo Terry is a managing partner at a private student loan refinancing company called Yrefy. She said borrowers need to check to see if their loan servicer changed and update any demographic information.
She said users can do this by going to studentaid.gov.
“Whether it’s an address, a phone, maybe you got married, maybe you had some kind of life change, update that information and then you can actually see what your payment is,” Terry said.
Once the borrower figures out the minimum amount they owe, Terry said they need to update their enrollment in auto payments and make needed adjustments to the repayment plan they’re enrolled in.
“You could have had a $200 a month payment and it was automatically being taken out of your checking account and that could start again,” Terry said. “Maybe you can’t afford that $200. Now, if you can’t jump back in and make your payments, there are a lot of options for you to continue to postpone your payments or reduce your payments, but the very first step is to figure out what your payment is.”
The Jan. 31 deadline is quickly approaching.
Terry recommends reserving a few minutes to review your options.