Some student loan holders begin payment, while others do not

Earlier this year the Biden administration ended a series of student loan repayment pauses and restarted the debt payment process. How is it going so far?

According to the Department of Education, 60% of debt holders have resumed or started paying down the amounts they owe.

This means 40%, or nearly 9 million people, have not resumed paying off the students loans they hold. Why not, and who are they?

The official DoE statement offers a first answer:

Millions more were not making payments prior to the payment pause because they were delinquent or obtained a deferment or forbearance….

Some are confused or overwhelmed about their options.

It doesn’t mention poverty, job stress, or political attitudes against student debt, The article does go on to add relief programs which (it implies) might help that 40%. There’s the SAVE program,Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and Fresh Start.* Also, “We are working with outside groups like Civic Nation and the NAACP through the SAVE on Student Debt Campaign.” In addition, there’s an “onramp” which doesn’t seem to be a named program, but is nonetheless important:

To give borrowers breathing room while they work student loan payments back into their monthly budgets, we created the 12-month on-ramp period. Until next September, borrowers will be protected from the harshest consequences of missed payments, such as delinquency…