Et cetera : 4 Student Loan Repayment Questions to Answer Now

By Dr. John Hartung
Aspire Resources Inc. board member

(September 6, 2023) - If you stopped making student loan payments due to COVID-19, answer these four questions before October, when payments resume for federal student loans that were eligible for the federal emergency relief.

1. What types of student loans do you have?

Not all student loans were eligible for COVID-19 relief, so it's important to know what types of loans you have and what assistance has been used.

Federal Direct Student Loans

If you took out federal student loans in 2010 or later, your loans are part of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and are owned by the federal government. These loans, and a small number of other federally held student loans, automatically received COVID-19 emergency relief benefits. Details of the return to payments are available at https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/covid-19.

Federal Family Education Loans

If you used federal student loans before 2010, you may have non-government-owned Federal Family Education Loan Program loans. Most non-government-owned FFELP loans, such as those serviced by Aspire Servicing Center, did not qualify for the above emergency relief benefits, but your lender or servicer may have allowed you to temporarily suspend payments through forbearance.

Private Student Loans

Private student loans are offered by student loan providers, banks and credit unions. These loans did not qualify for the federal emergency relief program, but many private student loans, such as those serviced by Aspire Servicing Center, were eligible for forbearance during COVID-19. Your lender may have offered forbearance or other assistance as well.

2. Do you know how to contact your servicer?

If you have not made payments for a while, you should verify your federal student loan servicer on the Federal Student Aid website at https://studentaid.gov.

If you were notified that your loan servicer has changed, be sure to confirm with the servicer, as scammers target student loan borrowers. Your lender or servicer should not charge you to provide assistance or information.

Whether or not your loan servicer has changed, now is a good time to check that your contact information is up-to-date on your student loan accounts. Log in to the student loan servicer's or provider's website to confirm your name, address and other information.

3. What are your loan terms and rates?

While you are thinking about student loan repayment, check your interest rates and other loan information. It's good to know the following about each loan you have:

- Type of loan (federal or private)

- Servicer or lender contact information

- Current balance (principal and outstanding interest)

- Interest rate

- Type of interest rate (fixed or variable)

- Monthly payment amount

- Payment due dates

- Repayment plan (if available)

4. What repayment options do you have?

You may have options if you face financial difficulty or would like to lower your monthly payment amount. Contact your servicer or lender to see what options are most appropriate for your situation.

Refinancing or consolidation may have benefits, such as simpler repayment, lower interest rates or extended repayment terms. More about consolidating federal loans can be found at https://studentaid.gov. More information on options for refinancing private loans can be found at www.IowaStudentLoan.org.

For updated information on recent changes to federal student loan repayment, visit https://studentaid.gov.