Rossen Reports: Here's how to prepare for student loan payments to start back up
Following the recent Supreme Court ruling to strike down President Joe Biden's student loan relief plan, payment is set to begin for millions of borrowers in the fall at the latest.
How do you prepare? First, know your lender. It could have changed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of larger companies that serviced federal student loans announced they’ll no longer be doing so, meaning millions of you will have a different company to deal with now.
You should have gotten an email or a call. Or go to your loan company’s website; it should have a notice on the homepage that will direct you where to go.
Figure out a repayment plan for yourself. If you feel like you can’t go back to the amount you were paying before, try an income-driven repayment plan.
These plans set your monthly student loan payment at an amount that's affordable based on your income and family size. A warning, it will take longer to pay off your loans, extending it to 20 to 25 years. But if you want to apply for one, do that now. You can request an economic hardship or unemployment deferment. Those postpone your payments and interest usually doesn’t accrue under them.
If you can, start putting a few payments down now since it’s interest-free. That will help if this legislation falls through.