Pause on student loans extended through May 1

The U.S. Department of Education has extended the pause on student loan repayments an additional 90 days--through May 1, 2022.

The department says in a news release that the extension will give the administration time to assess the impacts of the omicron Covid-19 variant on student borrowers.

It also gives borrowers more time to plan for the resumption of payments and reduce the risk of delinquency and defaults after restart.

"While our jobs recovery is one of the strongest ever — with nearly 6 million jobs added this year, the fewest Americans filing for unemployment in more than 50 years, and overall unemployment at 4.2 percent — we know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments," President Joe Biden says.

The pause on student loan payments will help 41 million borrowers save $5 billion per month. Borrowers are encouraged to use the additional time to ensure their contact information is up to date and to consider enrolling in electronic debit and income-driven repayment plans to support a smooth transition to repayment.

"I’m asking all student loan borrowers to do their part as well," Biden says. "Take full advantage of the Department of Education’s resources to help you prepare for payments to resume; look at options to lower your payments through income-based repayment plans; explore public service loan forgiveness; and make sure you are vaccinated and boosted when eligible."