Education Department Extends Student Loan Payment Freeze Through January

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos appears in Phoenix in October. On Friday, the Education Department announced an extension of pandemic relief measures for federal student loan borrowers.

Matt York / AP

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Friday that pandemic relief for about 41 million federal student loan borrowers will continue until Jan. 31.

In March, borrowers were granted a reprieve on their loan payments, interest was set to 0% and collections of defaulted federal student loans stopped. Congress initiated this relief in the CARES Act, and President Trump later extended it.

“The coronavirus pandemic has presented challenges for many students and borrowers, and this temporary pause in payments will help those who have been impacted,” DeVos said in a statement. “The added time also allows Congress to do its job and determine what measures it believes are necessary and appropriate.”