The office of Federal Student Aid is providing student loan relief to tens of millions of borrowers during the COVID-19 national emergency.
Student loan borrowers will be able to suspend their federal student loan payments without penalty and without accruing interest for at least 60 days, the Department of Education said Friday.
According to the DOE, all borrowers with federally held student loans will automatically have their interest rates set to 0% for a period of at least 60 days. In addition, each of these borrowers will have the option to suspend their payments for at least two months to allow them greater flexibility during the national emergency. This will allow borrowers to temporarily stop their payments without worrying about accruing interest.
“These are anxious times, particularly for students and families whose educations, careers, and lives have been disrupted,” says Secretary Betsy DeVos. “Right now, everyone should be focused on staying safe and healthy, not worrying about their student loan balance growing.”
Secretary DeVos has directed all federal student loan servicers to grant an administrative forbearance to any borrower with a federally held loan who requests one. The forbearance will be in effect for a period of at least 60 days, effective from March 13, 2020, the day President Trump declared a national emergency.
To request this forbearance, borrowers should contact their loan servicer online or by phone.
The Secretary has also authorized an automatic suspension of payments for any borrower more than 31 days delinquent as of March 13, 2020, or who becomes more than 31 days delinquent, essentially giving borrowers a safety net during the national emergency.
Borrowers may still continue to make payments. If they do, the full amount of their payment will be applied to the principal amount of their loan once all interest accrued prior to the president’s March 13 announcement is paid.
Any borrower who has experienced a change in income can contact their loan servicer to discuss lowering their monthly payment.
Visit StudentAid.gov/coronavirus for more information.
