RICHMOND, Va. -- Student loan payments resumed October 1, for millions of Americans who previously had a break from the monthly payment.
Federal student loan repayments were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and have stayed paused long enough for nearly three graduating classes of college students to have not yet made a payment.
"It's very stressful," VCU medical student Kendall Krusvewski said. "I think right now, people are trying to manage, you know, housing, and with the cost of everything, groceries, people aren't really wanting to have to pay it back. They're having to reallocate finances."
While Krusvewski still has several months before she’ll have to dish out dollars for her debt, she said she felt the stress now.
"It's honestly starting to influence what specialty people choose and the career path that people choose, because they want to make sure that they're able to pay back student loans and do it and an amount of time that allows them to also enjoy their life," she said.
In order to help the estimated 43 million Americans who have student loans, President Biden’s administration has launched the SAVE Plan.
"It will reduce many individuals to making zero payments under an income-based repayment plan," Virginia529 CEO Mary Morris said.
Morris said the SAVE Plan calculates your monthly payment based on income and family size and also factors in interest.
"Whatever piece of the interest, you're not paying monthly, because essentially it is forgiven, it doesn't accrue," she said. "And that's going to be a huge win, I think for people going forward as they're paying down their student debt.”
More than four million Americans so far have opted into SAVE, and Morris said there are millions more who may not know they qualify.
"Don't make assumptions," Morris said. "Communicate, and really get ready to get start paying for something that you've not had to do for a while."
While payments are due in October, interest already started accruing on September 1.
Morris also warned about a rise in scams with payments resuming and discourages you from clicking on any online links claiming to make the payment process easier.
For the most reliable information, she says to head to studentaid.gov.
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