On March 27, 2020, the president signed the CARES Act into law, which, among other things, provides broad relief for federal student loan borrowers.
Your payments will automatically stop from March 13, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2020.
To provide relief to student loan borrowers during the COVID-19 national emergency, federal student loan borrowers are automatically being placed in an administrative forbearance, which allows you to temporarily stop making your monthly loan payment. This suspension of payments will last until Sept. 30, 2020, but you can still make payments if you choose.
0% Interest for Student Loans
-
The interest rate on all federally held student loans will temporarily be reduced to 0% until September 30, 2020.
-
Loan servicers will automatically adjust accounts so that interest doesn’t accrue (i.e., accumulate). The account adjustment will be effective March 13, 2020.
-
This 0% interest rate change will be applied to all federally held loans in any status (in school, in grace, in repayment, in deferment/forbearance, etc.).
Temporary Suspension of Payments
- All borrowers will automatically be placed on an administrative forbearance which will temporarily suspend monthly payments.
- The administrative forbearance will last from March 13, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2020.
- A borrower can request that this administrative forbearance be removed at any time. If the forbearance is removed, required payments will resume.