--- title: The Student Loan Pause Is Officially Ending — Here's What to Expect description: After a pause of more than 40 months, federal student loans have started accruing interest again. Here's what that means for you. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: 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 more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 499 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: 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. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2023-09-01T15:26:42.000Z' modified: '2023-10-02T13:12:06.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - News word_count: 678 canonical: https://money.com/student-loan-interest-sept-1/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Collage of a calendar, money, and graduation cap.](https://img.money.com/2023/08/News-Student-Loans-September-2023.jpg) After a pause of more than 40 months, [student loans](https://money.com/student-loans/) held by the U.S. government will begin accruing interest Friday. As of Sept. 1, the waiver on [student loan interest](https://money.com/student-loan-interest-rates/) has officially ended after being in place since March 2020, when then-President Donald Trump first halted interest accrual through an executive order that aimed to provide economic relief to borrowers as they grappled with the onset of the pandemic. The pause essentially froze federal student loan balances for roughly 40 million borrowers, saving them an estimated $5 billion a month in interest alone. Now, three and a half years later, interest is starting to accumulate again for most federal student loans again. Here’s what borrowers need to know. ## Don't let Student Loan payments and accruing interests weigh you down! ### Take action today and secure your financial wellbeing by refinancing your student loan with Credible. Select your state to get started [See Details](https://money.com/pr/q4e536759d59?ap_referrer=%2Fstudent-loan-interest-sept-1%2F) ## What's happening with student loans this fall While interest on most federal student loans began accruing Friday, payments on those loans won’t come due for at least another month, according to the Department of Education. Starting in October, [federal student loan bills will restart](https://money.com/when-do-student-loan-payments-resume/) after also being on hold since March 2020. Individual student loan servicers will determine the exact due date in October for loan payments, though they are required to notify borrowers of their first bill at least 21 days before the payment is due. While interest is accruing, student loan balances may begin to rise if [borrowers aren’t making monthly payments](https://money.com/student-loan-payments-credit-scores/) that at least cover the interest. President Joe Biden announced in June that federal student loan borrowers will have flexibility on restarting payments during what [his administration calls a 12-month “on ramp” period](https://money.com/student-loan-forgiveness-whats-next/) that will last through September 2024. During this period, the Education Department says it won’t report missed payments to any of the credit bureaus, nor will it place any loans in default or delinquency. However, borrowers should note that interest will be accruing in the meantime. Experts and government officials are encouraging borrowers who can afford to make payments during the “on ramp” to do so. Otherwise, loan balances may start to balloon. To avoid growing balances, payments that cover at least the portion of interest accrual should be made each month. ## Begin refinancing your student loan today! ### See how much you can save while rates are low. [See Details](https://money.com/pr/u859938dade9?ap_referrer=%2Fstudent-loan-interest-sept-1%2F) ## How to avoid interest on your student loans There are some exceptions depending on the type of loan and the borrower’s repayment plan. For example, unsubsidized Direct and [Parent PLUS](https://money.com/parent-plus-loans-guide/) loans are accruing interest again, regardless of whether the borrower is still in school. However, subsidized Direct loans for undergrads who are currently attending college at least part time won’t accumulate interest immediately. Unrelated to the student loan pause, the government gives borrowers with these types of loans a six-month grace period after leaving school before interest starts accruing; interest is also paused during any periods of subsidized loan deferment. In other words, grad students, parents who are borrowing for their kids' education and borrowers with unsubsidized federal loans should expect interest to kick in this week — as well as those with subsidized loans who graduated six or more months ago. This amounts to the vast majority of federal student loan borrowers. (Private student loans have not been affected by the payment and interest pause.) Another way to avoid surging federal loan balances due to interest is to sign up for Biden’s recently announced [SAVE repayment plan](https://money.com/save-student-loan-plan-signup/). Under this new income-driven repayment plan, monthly payments will be pegged to 5% to 10% of borrowers’ discretionary income so that they’re ideally paying only what they can afford — including no payments at all. According to the Biden administration, single borrowers who earn $32,800 or less would qualify for a monthly payment of zero. Additionally, if the determined monthly payment does not meet or exceed the amount of interest the loans are accruing, then the government waives the rest so that borrowers who are enrolled in the plan don’t see their loan balances grow during the repayment period, as was often the case under previous repayment plans. ## Make your student loan payments work for you! ### Refinancing your student loan can help reduce your monthly payments and even the total cost of your loan. Why wait? Click below to get started today! [See Details](https://money.com/pr/o9d264b635e4?ap_referrer=%2Fstudent-loan-interest-sept-1%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38966/medium_752a1e55-4e21-4d57-a49f-43d51659e66b.webp) Refinance your Student Loan with Credible today! 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