CFPB Student Loan Repayment Return


On Nov. 26, CFPB analyzed student loan return to repayment data.


  • CFPB issued analysis of the first 7 months of federal student loan return to repayment.
  • Covid multi-year pause on federal student loan interest, payments ended Sep. 2023.
  • Used credit record data to evaluate how borrowers fared after returning to repayment.
  • Borrowers are experiencing financial stress despite increased availability of IDR plans.
  • Report Data
  • Report found that around 40% of borrowers successfully made payments in Apr. 2024.
  • Approximately 20% of borrowers had scheduled payment of $0 as of Ap. 2024, about double the share of borrowers before payment pause as use of IDR plans increased.
  • 30% of borrowers missed their payments in Ap. 2024, which is similar to share (27%) of borrowers in repayment who missed most recent payment before payment pause.
  • Additionally, nearly 8.9 million borrowers appear to have benefitted at least once from the on-ramp policy as 28 million borrowers returned to repayment all at once.
  • 47% of student borrowers entering repayment for 1st time are not actively repaying.
  • 21% of borrowers new to repayment successfully made their payments in Apr. 2024.
  • Delinquencies on non-student loan debts were higher at the end of pause than before.
  • Borrowers in low-income areas remain more likely to struggle to repay student loans.
  • Analysis Findings
  • Student loan borrowers experienced financial stress despite increased plan availability.
  • Increased card utilization rates and delinquencies on non-student loan accounts in months before repayment restarted show borrowers struggled before loan pays began.
  • Millions more borrowers could likely benefit from the reduced or $0 payments offered by IDR plans but may be experiencing problems in successfully accessing these plans.
  • Due to long servicer call wait times and problems with IDR application processing.
  • Similarities between borrowers who have $0 scheduled payments and borrowers who have missed payments suggest expanded $0 payments may help some borrowers;
  • Stay out of delinquency on student loans or avoid increasing their use of other debts.

Regulators CFPB
Entity Types Bank; CNSM; MSB; Servicer; Thrift
Reference Rp, PR, 11/26/2024; COVID-19;
Functions Compliance; Financial; Legal; Operations
Countries United States of America
Category National Regulator
State
Products Banking; Cards; Education; Loan
Regions Am
Rule Type Guidance
Rule Date 11/26/2024
Effective Date 11/26/2024
Rule Id 234975
Linked to N/A
Reg. Last Update 11/26/2024
Report Section US Banking

Last substantive update on 11/29/2024