Many companies featured on Money advertise with us. Opinions are our own, but compensation and
in-depth research may determine where and how companies appear. Learn more about how we make money.

  1. Personal Finance
  2. Student Loan Debt

Student Loan Pause Extension: Biden Confirms Payments Won't Resume Until September

By: Adam Hardy
Adam Hardy, expert in Personal finance, student loans, credit, job market, low-income finances, and Lead data journalist at Money
Adam Hardy
Lead data journalist | Joined May 2024
Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and many other outlets.
See full bio
Editor: Julia Glum
Julia Glum, expert in the IRS, taxes, credit scores, saving, colleges, mobile payment apps, and News Editor at Money
Julia Glum
News Editor | Joined February 2018
Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money.
See full bio
Published: Apr 06, 2022 7 min read
A group of people holding signs thanking President Biden and Vice President Harris for extending the student loan pause once again
Getty Images

Nearly 40 million student loan borrowers can breathe a sigh of relief.

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that his administration is extending the student loan moratorium until Aug. 31, against a backdrop of record-setting inflation, whispers of an impending recession and yet another wave of COVID-19 infections.

The student loan moratorium freezes student loan payments and sets the loan interest rate to 0%. Payments were slated to restart May 1, though polls found borrowers weren't ready to resume payments and research suggested many would have been at risk of defaulting on their debts beyond just student loans.

"I know folks were hit hard by the pandemic," Biden said in a video, announcing the extension. "And though we've come a long way in the last year, we're still recovering from the economic crisis it caused."

The news came after weeks of rumors the White House was taking steps toward pushing back the previously announced May start date. Citing anonymous officials, Politico reported Tuesday that the extension was tentatively slated to last until the end of August. Biden and the U.S. Department of Education later confirmed that timeline.