Students walk on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Indiana.
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The government of the president Joe Biden It extended the moratorium on federal student loan payments that has allowed tens of millions of Americans to defer paying that debt during the pandemic.
Under the measure, student loan payments will remain on hold until May 1. Interest rates will remain at 0% during that period and collection efforts will be suspended. These measures have been in effect since the beginning of the pandemic, but were scheduled to expire on January 31.
Biden said financial recovery from the pandemic will take longer than job recovery, especially for those with student loans.
“We know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need a little more time before resuming payments,” the president said in a statement, adding that it was an issue that he and the vice president “they are deeply concerned.”
The omicron variant of the coronavirus that has spread throughout U.S it had given new urgency to the question of whether the moratorium would be extended. The officials of the government they had initially said they expected the extension to January to be their last. But even as the economy improves, there are concerns that borrowers are not ready to start paying again. Once the moratorium ends, those already behind in payments could have wages and benefits seized as part of collection efforts.
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