Biden extends pause on federal student loan payments to Jan. 31

On Friday, the Biden administration announced it will extend the pause on federal student loan payments until Jan. 31, 2022.

The extension of the pause on loan repayments and interest is automatic but applies only to federally held loans, CNN reported. About 85% of all federal student loans fall under this category, according to CNN Politics, including direct federal loans and PLUS loans that parents have taken out on behalf of their children.

Data from the Department of Education shows that just over 6,000 Syracuse University students, or about 39% of all undergraduate students as of fall 2019, received federal loans during the 2019-20 school year. It is unclear how many of these students had federally held loans and would benefit from the pause.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations have previously extended the pandemic relief benefit, which Congress initiated by passing the CARES Act in March 2020. The latest freeze was due to end on Sept. 30.

No payments have been required on federal loans since March 2020, with interest and collections on defaulted debt on hold as well.

Despite the pause, senators such as Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, have called on Biden to do more, such as implementing an executive order for loan forgiveness, although such an order has not yet been instituted.