The fact that up to 40% of borrowers didn't make a payment “reflects exactly what we've been warning would happen should Biden turn the debt collection apparatus back on,” said Astra Taylor, co-founder of the Debt Collective, a union for debtors.
In October, the pandemic-era pause on student loan payments expired, and some 22 million people had their bills due again.
By the numbers: 60% of student loan borrowers with payments due in October made those by mid-November, according to data released this month by Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. This leaves nearly 9 million borrowers with restarted debts who did not pay.
Due to COVID-19-related student loan forbearance, the three-year federal student loan default rate in 2023, was technically 0.0%. The student loan default rate has declined since 2020. In 2022, the three-year student loan default rate was 2.3%. From 2016-2020, student loan default rates were around 10-11.5%.
Roughly 43 million Americans have outstanding federal student loan debt — that's about 13% of the U.S. population, per census data. Source: Federal Student Aid, Portfolio by Age Q4 2023.
Data Summary. The average federal student loan payment is about $302 for bachelor's and $208 for associate degree-completers. The average monthly repayment for master's degree-holders is about $688.
Student loans in the U.S. are generally either owned by the federal government or financial institutions. The federal government fully guarantees almost all student loans. Some student loans are held by agencies like Sallie Mae or a third-party loan servicing company.
A December report by the Department of Education found that 40% of student loan borrowers had not made a payment by mid-November 2023, just weeks after repayment began.
Black and African American student borrowers are the most likely to struggle financially due to student loan debt making monthly payments of $250. Asian college graduates are the fastest to repay their loan debt and the most likely to earn a salary that exceeds their student loan debt balance.
There are many benefits to paying off your student debt early. You will save on student loan interest and get out of debt faster while improving your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. With a higher DTI ratio and more disposable income, you could pursue other financial goals, such as buying a house or saving for retirement.
Key Takeaways. Carrying student debt can affect your ability to buy a home if your debt-to-income ratio is too high. If you have too much student loan debt, you won't be able to save as much for retirement. Student loan debt can lower your credit score, especially if you fail to make on-time payments.
Congress recently passed a law preventing further extensions of the payment pause. Student loan interest will resume starting on Sept. 1, 2023, and payments will be due starting in October. We will notify borrowers well before payments restart.
Interest can make student loans more expensive, while inflation can make that debt harder to manage alongside other bills. Paying off some of your debt during your studies could ease the burden later on and save you money on interest.
The U.S. Department of Education recently reported that 40% of federal student loan borrowers have not made payments since payments resumed in October. This crisis is affecting millions of Americans across the nation.
Soaring college costs and pressure to compete in the job marketplace are big factors for student loan debt. Student loans are the most common form of educational debt, followed by credit cards and other types of credit. Borrowers who don't complete their degrees are more likely to default.
It's the result of a decades-long explosion in borrowing coupled with soaring education costs. The Federal Reserve data shows people under the age of 30 are more likely to have student loan debt compared with older adults – underscoring the crippling burden on another generation of Americans.
About half of students at four-year public universities finished their bachelor's degree* without any debt and 78 percent graduated with less than $30,000 in debt. Only 4 percent of public university graduates left with more than $60,000.
58% of students seeking a Bachelor's degree from a public 4-year college have student loan debt. 42% of students seeking a Bachelor's degree from a public 4-year college have no student loan debt. 4% of Bachelor's degree graduates who went to a public 4-year school owe over $60,000 in debt.
Today, just about everyone involved in the student loan industry makes money off students – the banks, private investors, even the federal government.
However, it's important to note that in the United States, most student loans are actually issued by the federal government, not private banks. When it comes to federal student loans, banks don't make a profit off of the interest charged on the loans.
Most debt belongs to 25- to 34-year-olds; 35- to 49-year-olds owe the most on average, exceeding 50- to 61-year-olds by 8.0%. 104,800 federal borrowers aged 24 years and younger owe an average $14,599 each for a total of $1.53 billion.
The monthly payment on a $60,000 student loan ranges from $636 to $5,387, depending on the APR and how long the loan lasts. For example, if you take out a $60,000 student loan and pay it back in 10 years at an APR of 5%, your monthly payment will be $636.
NMLS # 1681276, is referred to here as "Credible." If you racked up $30,000 in student loan debt, you're right in line with typical numbers: the average student loan balance per borrower is $33,654. Compared to others who have six-figures worth of debt, that loan balance isn't too bad.