The payment pause ended on September 1, 2023
Federal student loan payments and interest accrual stopped in March 2020 during the pandemic. That pause lasted longer than originally planned, but it ended on September 1, 2023. Borrowers with federal loans began owing monthly payments again starting that date, and interest started accruing on most loan types.
The pause affected Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), and Perkins Loans held by the Department of Education. Private student loans were never part of the pause — those lenders set their own rules and continued collecting payments throughout.
If you have federal student loans, you should have received notice from your loan servicer in the months before September 2023 telling you when payments would restart and what your new payment amount would be. The amount depends on your loan balance, interest rate, and repayment plan.
Key Takeaways
- Federal student loan payments restarted on September 1, 2023, after a pause that began in March 2020.
- Interest began accruing again on federal loans on September 1, 2023, except for loans in deferment or forbearance.
- Your loan servicer sent you a notice before the restart date with your new payment amount and due date.
- Private student loans were never paused and continued requiring payments throughout the pandemic period.
How to find your current loan servicer and payment status
Your loan servicer is the company that collects your monthly payment. It is not necessarily the lender who originally gave you the loan. Servicers change over time, and you may have multiple servicers if you have different types of federal loans.
To find your current servicer, log into studentaid.gov using your FSA ID. Your account there shows all your federal loans, which servicer handles each one, and your current balance and interest rate. You can also see your repayment plan and the date your next payment is due.
If you cannot log in or do not have an FSA ID, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). They can tell you which servicer handles your loans and provide contact information.
What changed about your monthly payment amount
Your payment amount depends on three things: your loan balance, your interest rate, and your repayment plan. When the pause ended, your balance and interest rate were the same as they were in March 2020 (unless you made voluntary payments during the pause). Your repayment plan stayed the same unless you changed it.
If you were on an income-driven repayment plan before the pause, your payment was recalculated based on your current income when the pause ended. Income-driven plans include Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Income-Based Repayment (IBR), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR). Your servicer recalculated your payment using the income information you had provided most recently, or zero income if you had not submitted recent information.
If you were on the standard 10-year repayment plan, your payment amount returned to what it was before the pause, adjusted only for any additional interest that accrued during the pause period.
Interest accrual and how it affects your loan balance
Interest stopped accruing on most federal loans during the pause. When payments restarted on September 1, 2023, interest began accruing again. The amount of interest you owe each month depends on your interest rate and your loan balance.
Federal student loan interest rates are set by Congress and vary by loan type. Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans taken out between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, have an interest rate of 8.05 percent. Rates for loans taken out in other years are different. You can find your specific interest rate on studentaid.gov or in your loan servicer's records.
If you are on an income-driven repayment plan and your monthly payment does not cover all the interest that accrues, the unpaid interest is capitalized — added to your loan balance — after 20 or 25 years depending on your plan. This increases the total amount you owe. If your payment covers the interest, no capitalization occurs.
Deferment and forbearance during and after the pause
Some borrowers were in deferment or forbearance when the pause began. Deferment means you do not have to make payments, and on subsidized loans, interest does not accrue. Forbearance means you do not have to make payments, but interest continues to accrue on all loan types.
During the pause, borrowers in deferment or forbearance were not required to take action to stay in those statuses. However, deferment and forbearance periods have time limits. When the pause ended, those time limits began counting down again. If your deferment or forbearance period expired after September 1, 2023, your loans moved out of that status and payments became due.
If you were in forbearance when the pause ended, interest that accrued during forbearance was capitalized to your loan balance on September 1, 2023. This means it was added to what you owe, and you will pay interest on that interest going forward.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness and the pause
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program forgives remaining federal student loan debt after 120 may have access to monthly payments while working full-time for a government agency or nonprofit organization. During the payment pause, the Department of Education counted the paused months toward the 120-payment requirement, even though borrowers were not making actual payments.
This temporary counting ended when the pause ended on September 1, 2023. Going forward, only actual payments made after September 1, 2023, count toward the 120-payment requirement. Payments made before the pause began still count, and the months during the pause still count, but no additional credit is given for time after the pause ends without a payment.
If you are pursuing PSLF, you can check your progress on studentaid.gov. Your account shows how many may have access to payments you have made toward the 120 required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to start paying if I am still in school?
No. If you are enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program, your loans are in an in-school deferment status. You do not have to make payments while you are enrolled. Interest does not accrue on Direct Subsidized Loans during in-school deferment, but it does accrue on Unsubsidized Loans and PLUS Loans. Once you graduate or drop below half-time enrollment, your grace period begins, and payments are due six months later.
What happens if I cannot afford my payment?
Contact your loan servicer to discuss your options. You can request forbearance (temporary pause on payments while interest accrues) or deferment (temporary pause on payments; interest does not accrue on subsidized loans). You can also change your repayment plan to an income-driven plan, which bases your payment on your current income and may lower your monthly amount. Your servicer can explain which options you may be able to use.
Can I still make payments even though the pause ended?
Yes. You can make payments at any time. If you make payments before they are due, the extra money goes toward your principal balance, reducing the total amount you owe and the interest you will pay over time. Your servicer's website shows how to make a payment and whether you can set up automatic payments.
What if my loan servicer changed during the pause?
Loan servicers sometimes transfer accounts to other companies. If your servicer changed, you should have received a notice from both the old servicer and the new one. Log into studentaid.gov to see your current servicer, or call 1-800-4-FED-AID to confirm. Your loan balance and terms did not change — only the company collecting your payment changed.
Are there any new forgiveness programs I should know about?
The Department of Education has offered several limited-time forgiveness programs in recent years, but these are separate from the payment pause. The most recent was the one-time debt relief program announced in 2022, which had income limits and process requirements. Check studentaid.gov for current information about any programs you may be able to use.