Student loans: 1 in 3 borrowers have slowed repayment

By Joe Yerardi | NerdWallet

About 43 million Americans hold federal student loan debt and, for some, paying off that debt can be a burden. Many borrowers have access to programs that can pause or reduce their payments, but a new survey finds some borrowers may be forgoing the proper channels and stopping repayment entirely in hopes of student loan forgiveness.

Nearly one in three (31%) student loan borrowers have slowed the repayment of their loan(s) because they hope to see their loans reduced or forgiven by the federal government, according to a recent NerdWallet survey conducted online by The Harris Poll among more than 600 U.S. adults who currently have student loans. And nearly one in four (23%) have stopped their student loan payments altogether for the same reason.

Notably, the survey didn’t ask whether borrowers who slowed or stopped their repayments did so after entering into forbearance or deferment plans. Further, student loan delinquencies have remained largely unchanged since the COVID-19 payment pause ended last October, according to data from the New York Fed. This is likely due to a one-year “on-ramp” grace period set to expire Sept. 30, during which the Department of Education is not reporting any borrowers who miss payments as delinquent.

A worry for borrowers, and a top election issue

Despite the Supreme Court blocking the Biden Administration’s broad plan to cut up to $20,000 in student loan debt per eligible borrower last June, the White House has forgiven roughly $168.5 billion over the last four years, largely through existing forgiveness programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans. The president’s current “plan B” student loan forgiveness plan would reduce or eliminate loan debt for a more targeted group of individuals.

There’s no guarantee this plan or anything resembling it will go into effect. Just as legal challenges derailed the administration’s first, broader push for debt relief, lawsuits could force the administration or its successor to further scale back this set of proposals. This fall’s elections could also determine how debt relief proceeds — if at all.

Borrowers seem to have taken note.

A quarter (25%) say they are concerned recent student loan forgiveness efforts will be reversed by the courts. And more than one in five (22%) say that student loan forgiveness is one of the most important issues when choosing a presidential candidate.

Not paying student loans can hurt you

There are consequences if you fail to keep up with your student loan payments.

If you have federal student loans, loans become delinquent as soon as you miss a payment. Loan servicers can begin charging late fees 30 days after that. After three months, servicers may begin reporting the debt to credit reporting agencies, dragging down your credit score. Eventually, student loans enter default and your loan holder will be able to garnish your wages and withhold tax refunds and Social Security payments from you.

The default process happens even faster for student loans held by private lenders.

Pick the repayment plan that’s right for you

While the repercussions of not paying student loans can be serious, the good news is you have several repayment options for federal student loans. (Private student loan repayment options vary by lender.) Use the Education Department’s loan simulator to estimate your monthly bills and overall repayment journey under different repayment plans.

Standard repayment: Under this plan, you’ll pay the same amount each month for a decade. This is generally the fastest way to pay loans off, and therefore you may pay less total interest. You’re placed into this plan by default when repayment begins.

Income-driven repayment: If payments under standard repayment seem too high, you can apply for income-driven repayment (IDR). Under IDR plans, you’ll pay a portion (usually 10-20%) of your discretionary income each month for a set period of time (usually 20-25 years), after which your remaining debt will be forgiven.

Graduated payment: Consider the graduated payment plan if an IDR plan isn’t a good fit, but you want to lower your monthly bill right now. Under this 10-year plan, your payment will start low and increase every two years. The advantage is you’ll be able to free up money in the short term for other needs. The downside is you may end up paying more in interest than under the standard repayment plan.

Extended repayment: If you owe more than $30,000 in loans, you can apply for the extended repayment plan. This plan gives you up to 25 years to repay your loans and you can choose to pay the same amount each month or a gradually increasing amount as under the graduated plan.

Borrowers seem to be taking advantage of these options, as a third (33%) say they’ve changed their student loan repayment plan in order to make their payments more manageable, according to the recent survey.

Before defaulting on your loans, consider deferment, forbearance or an IDR plan

If you simply can’t afford to make any student loan payments right now, you still have options: namely, deferment and forbearance. More than a quarter (27%) of student loan borrowers have used one or both of these programs to pause their federal loan payments, according to the survey.

Both pause your payments and protect your credit from taking the hit it otherwise would if you simply stopped making payments. But the similarities end there.

First, look into deferment. Under deferment, interest does not accrue on your subsidized federal student or Perkins loans while payments are paused (interest will continue to accrue on unsubsidized federal or private student loans).

You must meet a qualifying life event in order to qualify for deferment. Qualifying events include attending school at least half time, being active duty military or in the Peace Corps, experiencing unemployment or earning less than 150% of your state’s poverty guidelines, receiving some forms of public assistance or undergoing cancer treatment.

If you don’t qualify for deferment, consider forbearance. Under forbearance, interest will continue to accrue on your loans (whether federal student loans or private loans) while repayment is paused, and you’ll be limited to a 12-month break from payments.

An income-driven repayment plan can also help you manage payments. If you’ve lost your income, or you earn under a certain threshold, you may qualify for $0 payments under an IDR plan — and you’ll still make progress towards IDR forgiveness while making these $0 payments. Even if you don’t qualify for $0 payments, IDR plans can lower your bills to a more manageable level.

The complete survey methodology is available in the original article, published at NerdWallet.

More From NerdWallet

• Full FAFSA Launch by Dec. 1: What Students and Families Need To Know
• Direct Admissions: How to Get Into College Without Applying
• Some Federal Student Loan Interest Rates at Record Highs

Joe Yerardi writes for NerdWallet. Email: jyerardi@nerdwallet.com.