Student loan borrowers have a bit longer to put off repayment as President Biden on Wednesday pushed back the federal student loan moratorium until Aug. 31. This extension means over 43 million Americans can put off repaying their federal student loans even longer without accruing any additional interest.
This was surprising to some as the United States continues to ease pandemic-related restrictions along with many Americans returning to work. But for those grappling with the economic repercussions of the pandemic as well as record-high inflation, it gives a bit of breathing room for the moment.
But with less than 150 days until the next deadline, consumers shouldn't get too comfortable as payments will eventually resume.
Select details what steps consumers should take amid the extension, and how consumers should prepare to eventually repay their debts in the meantime.
Our best selections in your inbox. Shopping recommendations that help upgrade your life, delivered weekly. Sign-up here.
Student loan repayment frozen, but not far away
The extensions in the student loan moratorium have been quite helpful for the 43 million Americans who owe the federal government a collective $1.6 trillion. The newest extension is a relief but borrowers shouldn't rely upon more extensions — instead they should start preparing to begin repayment.
Andrew Pentis, a student loan expert tells Select borrowers should "start planning for August, September and beyond, don't wait. This way, when payments resume, you will already have a plan in place to ensure that you avoid late or missed payments and are working strategically toward ending your debt."
Pentis also says there are several steps borrowers should take to ensure their eligibility for the student loan moratorium, as well as preparing for the payment freeze to eventually end.
What you should do between now and Aug. 31
Pentis recommends first to "contact your federal loan servicer to confirm your ongoing eligibility for the pause and discuss options for handling repayment once the moratorium ends. If your servicer is not especially helpful, take on the research yourself or work with a certified student loan or credit counselor at an accredited nonprofit counseling agency."
If you decide to work with a student loan counselor or agency, it's important to ensure they're fully certified as there are many student loan forgiveness scams.
After this, he urges borrowers to "get your financial house in order." This includes prioritizing things like filling your emergency fund in a high-yield savings account like Ally Online Savings Account.
Ally Bank Savings Account
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00% APY
Minimum balance
None
Monthly fee
None
Maximum transactions
Unlimited withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle
Excessive transactions fee
$10 per transaction
Overdraft fee
None
Offer checking account?
Yes
Offer ATM card?
Yes, if have an Ally checking account
Terms apply.
Read our Ally Bank Savings Account review.
You'll also want to educate yourself on all your repayment options, improving your credit score, monitoring your credit score and paying down any other high interest debt. Consider a free credit monitoring service, like from Experian, to keep tabs on what debts you owe and how they're affecting your credit score. Some may even consider investing over paying back their student loans while interest isn't accruing.
For the time being while payments aren't required and interest isn't accruing, Pentis stated that for those in a financially solid position, "it could make sense to get aggressive with extra payments or even consider student loan refinancing to score a lower APR." If you pay more towards your student loan balance now while interest isn't accruing you should be able to save more in the long term: when the moratorium ends the interest is accruing will be on a smaller principle balance, meaning less interest charges overall.
If you're considering refinancing your federal student loans it may be best to wait until the moratorium is over. If you were to refinance your federal student loans they would become serviced by a private lender, and while you may receive a lower interest rate, these private student loans don't qualify for the moratorium. If paying down your debt or refinancing aren't possibilities, an income-driven repayment plan or pursuing student loan forgiveness could be worth it.
However if you already do have private student loans then refinancing may be a good option, as it can save you thousands of dollars in interest charges. Select ranked SoFi Student Loan Refinancing as the best overall student loan refinancing company for its lack of application and origination fees and other benefits.
- 0.25% autopay interest rate discount
- 0.125% SoFi Plus discount
- No origination fees, no late fees and no insufficient fund fees
- Private loans, which means you lose federal loan benefits
- $5,000 minimum loan amount
Fixed rates range from 3.99% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Variable rates range from 5.74% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates will never exceed 13.95% (the maximum rate for these loans). SoFi rate ranges are current as of 5/6/26 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. You may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term. Autopay Discount: The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly payments as outlined in your loan agreement by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. When the autopay interest rate deduction is added or removed, the next time the loan is re-amortized (quarterly for fixed rate loans; monthly for variable rate loans),the principal balance of your loan will be spread over the remaining loan term, and your monthly payment amount will change. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment, grace period, or forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. Member Rate Discount: To be eligible for an additional 0.125% interest rate reduction on a Student Loan Refinancing, you must, within 31 days of loan funding, either (1) be a SoFi Plus subscriber, (2) receive an Eligible Direct Deposit into a SoFi Checking or Savings account, or (3) receive at least $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits into a SoFi Checking or Savings account. You must continue to meet at least one of the above eligibility criteria every 31 days to maintain the discount. See the SoFi Plus terms for details on SoFi Plus subscription. For more details on Eligible Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits, please see https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet. Once you become eligible during the initial period, the discount will be removed or reinstated depending on whether the criteria have been met. Each time your loan is re-amortized, your monthly payment amount will change based upon the interest rate that was in place. SoFi reserves the right to modify or terminate this offer at any time for unenrolled participants. You are not required to meet these criteria to be approved for a loan. SoFi Plus Discount: To be eligible to receive an additional (0.125%) interest rate reduction on your Student Loan Refinancing (your "Loan") for enrolling in SoFi Plus, you must enroll in SoFi Plus within 30 days of Loan funding, either by receiving an Eligible Direct Deposit to your SoFi Checking and Savings account, or by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. Once eligible, you will receive this discount during periods in which you have received Eligible Direct Deposit to your SoFi Checking and Savings Account, or during periods in which SoFi successfully receives payment of the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. This discount lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your regular monthly payment. This discount will be removed during periods in which SoFi determines you have turned off Eligible Direct Deposit to your Checking and Savings account or in which you have not paid the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. SoFi reserves the right to change or terminate this interest rate reduction offer for unenrolled participants at any time without notice. You are not required to enroll in Eligible Direct Deposit or to pay the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee to be eligible for Loan approval. See what qualifies as an Eligible Direct Deposit here: www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#slr-discount
Eligible Direct Deposit means regularly recurring deposit of regular income to an Automated Clearing House ("ACH") Network during a 30-Day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Although we do our best to recognize all Eligible Direct Deposits, a small number of employers, payroll providers, benefits providers, or government agencies do not generate payments that are detectable by our system. So qualifying direct deposits are those where the student loan refinance discount rate is applied automatically for each month where you have an Eligible Direct Deposit of at least $1,000 per 30-day Evaluation Period. Eligible Direct Deposit does not include transfers between accounts you own, refunds, rebates, reimbursements, stimulus payments, merchant refunds, or payments from person-to-person payment services (such as Venmo). To qualify for the 0.25% interest rate reduction, the direct deposit must be recurring and paid directly into a SoFi Checking or Savings account. For the avoidance of doubt, deposits made via check, cash, or mobile check deposit are not eligible. Direct Deposit eligibility is determined by SoFi's sole discretion. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the period starting on the "Start Date" and ending on the "End Date" set forth on the App Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the "30-Day Evaluation Period"). You can access the APV Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking → Checking → APV or (ii) Banking → Checking → APV Details. If you do not qualify for the discount during the initial 30-Day Evaluation Period, your loan will not be eligible for a discount unless you re-qualify in a later 30-Day Evaluation Period. If you qualify during the 30-Day Evaluation Period, the discount will be applied on a going-forward basis only. SoFi Bank determines eligibility. If you have a joint account, each account holder receives Eligible Direct Deposits into your SoFi Checking and Savings account, then you will be eligible for all SoFi Plus benefits, including on accounts you hold in your own name. Federal Loan Disclosure: Terms and conditions apply. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are private loans. When you refinance federal loans with a SoFi loan, YOU FORFEIT YOUR ELiIGIBILITY FOR ALL FEDERAL LOAN BENEFITS, including all flexible federal repayment and forgiveness options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers including, but not limited to: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, extended repayment plans, PAYE or SAVE. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligiblity. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).
Read more on student loan refinancing
Bottom line
Biden intended to end the moratorium months ago, but an uptick in Covid-19 infections caused an extension. And even though some lawmakers have asked to extend it through the end of 2022, with preference to cancel student debt in-full — forgiveness has made no headway on Capitol Hill.
"Borrowers should definitely not hold out hope for [forgiveness] and should go about their business as normal," says Pentis.
So if you have student loans and benefitting from the moratorium, it's best to create a plan to begin repayment once the moratorium lifts. By doing that, you can feel confident that you can crush your student debt once and for all.
Catch up on Select's in-depth coverage of personal finance, tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
Read more
* Fixed rates range from 3.99% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Variable rates range from 5.74% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates will never exceed 13.95% (the maximum rate for these loans). SoFi rate ranges are current as of 5/6/26 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. You may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.
