How student loan repayments will affect Pennsylvania borrowers
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Pennsylvania borrowers have to hand over student loan payments this month for the first time in more than three years.
Why it matters: More than 40 million Americans had their federal student loan payments paused during the pandemic. But now those monthly bills are back, leaving people with less purchasing power, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports.
State of play: More than 1.8 million people across the Keystone State owed a total of $66.5 billion in federal student loan debt as of June 30, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
- Pennsylvania borrowers have an average of nearly $35,700 in student debt, slightly below the national average of $37,300, per the Education Data Initiative.
Zoom in: People in their mid-20s to their late 40s make up the largest share of Pennsylvania residents with federal student loan debt, according to Education Department data.
- People aged 25 to 34 owed the most money.
Catch up fast: In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, which would have nixed up to $20,000 in federal debt per borrower.
- Biden put in place a new option after that, where some borrowers who have been paying for decades — including more than 29,800 in Pennsylvania — were approved to have debt forgiven.
- Last week, Biden added $9 billion of student loan forgiveness through "fixes" to its debt relief programs, helping 125,000 borrowers.
Be smart: Late payments won't be reported to credit bureaus or negatively affect borrowers' credit scores through Sept. 30, 2024.
- Use this Axios explainer to figure out your student loan status before payments resume.
- Borrowers can also calculate their repayment with Federal Student Aid's loan simulator.
Plus: Borrowers can sign up for a new income-driven repayment plan, the SAVE plan, which is estimated to save the typical borrower about $1,000 per year, per the White House.