www.cnet.com
Open in
urlscan Pro
2a04:4e42:4c::666
Public Scan
Submitted URL: https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/loans/these-student-loan-benefits-expire-in-2-days-heres-what-borrowers-should-...
Effective URL: https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/loans/two-major-student-loan-benefits-will-end-this-week-heres-what-to-know/
Submission: On October 01 via api from BE — Scanned from DE
Effective URL: https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/loans/two-major-student-loan-benefits-will-end-this-week-heres-what-to-know/
Submission: On October 01 via api from BE — Scanned from DE
Form analysis 1 forms found in the DOM
<form><span class="vjs-social-title">Share: </span>
<h2 class="vjs-social-description"></h2>
<div class="vjs-social-share-links">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnet.com%2Fvideos%2Frecession-or-business-as-usual%2F&title=" class="vjs-social-share-link vjs-icon-facebook" aria-label="Share on Facebook" title="Facebook" target="_blank">
<span class="vjs-control-text">Facebook</span>
</a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fabout.twitter.com%2Fresources%2Fbuttons&text=&tw_p=tweetbutton&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnet.com%2Fvideos%2Frecession-or-business-as-usual%2F" class="vjs-social-share-link vjs-icon-twitter" aria-label="Share on Twitter" title="Twitter" target="_blank">
<span class="vjs-control-text">Twitter</span>
</a>
</div><label class="vjs-social-direct-link" aria-label="Read Only: Direct Link To Content"><span class="vjs-social-label-text">Direct Link</span><input type="text" readonly="true" value=""></label><label class="vjs-social-embed-code"
aria-label="Read Only: Embed Code"><span class="vjs-social-label-text">Embed Code</span><input type="text" readonly="true" value=""></label>
</form>Text Content
X Your Guide To a Better Future Join/Login * Trending * AI * Tech * VPN * Streaming Services * Mobile * Home Entertainment * Computing * Services & Software * Gaming All Tech * Money * Banking * Credit Cards * Mortgages * Home Equity * Taxes All Money * Home * Energy * Electric Vehicles * Home Security * Smart Home * Kitchen & Household * Yard & Outdoors All Home * Wellness * Sleep * Nutrition * Fitness * Personal Care All Wellness * Home Internet * Broadband * By Location * Internet Routers All Home Internet * Deals * Tech * Home * Wellness * Coupons * Gift Guides All Deals * Cover Stories * More * Video * Price Finder * Editors' Choice * CNET Voices All More Join/Login Back Recession? Or Business as Usual? Recession? Or Business as Usual? Click to unmute Recession? Or Business as Usual? Recession? Or Business as Usual? Video Player is loading. Play Video PauseSkip BackwardSkip ForwardNext playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:03 / Duration 1:11 Loaded: 58.54% 0:03 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind liveLIVE Remaining Time -1:08 1x Playback Rate Chapters * Chapters Descriptions * descriptions off, selected Captions * captions settings, opens captions settings dialog * captions off, selected * en-US Share Audio Track * en (Main), selected Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentText BackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentCaption Area BackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque Font Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop shadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall Caps ResetDone Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Share: Facebook Twitter Direct LinkEmbed Code Close Modal Dialog * Money * Loans TWO MAJOR STUDENT LOAN BENEFITS WILL END THIS WEEK. HERE'S WHAT TO KNOW If you've missed student loan payments or have loans in default, listen up. Rebecca Safier Contributor Rebecca Safier is a personal finance writer and certified student loan counselor who specializes in student debt, personal loans, and budgeting. Previously a senior writer for LendingTree and Student Loan Hero, Rebecca's work has been published in NextAdvisor with TIME, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Advisor, MarketWatch, and other publications. She has also contributed expert commentary to Fortune, Entrepreneur, NBC, and more. When she's not writing about all things personal finance, Rebecca is teaching people how to blog on her website Remote Bliss, traveling to new places, or taking her Boston terrier to the beach. See full bio Courtney Johnston Senior Editor Courtney Johnston is a senior editor leading the CNET Money team. Passionate about financial literacy and inclusion, she has a decade of experience as a freelance journalist covering policy, financial news, real estate and investing. A New Jersey native, she graduated with an M.A. in English Literature and Professional Writing from the University of Indianapolis, where she also worked as a graduate writing instructor. Expertise Taxes | Student loans | Credit cards | Banking | Mortgages | Investing | Insurance See full bio Rebecca Safier , Courtney Johnston Sept. 30, 2024 1:27 p.m. PT 4 min read Getty Images/CNET If you have federal student loans, two important benefits are ending this week: the student loan repayment "on-ramp" and the Fresh Start program. From March 2020 through October 2023, federal student loan payments were paused in response to the pandemic. Over the past year, borrowers received additional benefits meant to ease the transition back into active student loan repayment. These repayment benefits are expiring at the end of the day today, Sept. 30. Starting in October, missing payments could lead to default, collections and damage to your credit report. If your loans are in bad standing due to missed payments, you have until 3 a.m. ET (12 a.m. PT) on Oct. 2 to apply for the Fresh Start program to get any unpaid loans out of default. This deadline was previously Sept. 30 and was just extended today. Here's what these changes mean if you hold student loans. MISSED STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS WILL COUNT AGAINST YOU Since student loan payments were paused for over three years, the Department of Education offered a one-year on-ramp for borrowers to help them prepare to make monthly student loan payments again. Although payments were still due during this time, if you couldn't make them each month, your loans weren't moved into delinquency or default. Loan servicers were also instructed not to report missed payments to the credit bureaus during this window. Interest still accrued, and skipping payments meant you weren't making any progress toward getting out of debt or qualifying for a loan forgiveness program like Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Starting on Oct. 1, this will change. Late payments can now be reported to credit bureaus, which could damage your credit score. If your payments are 90 days late, your loans become delinquent, and once you miss 270 days of payments, your loans are considered in default. Defaulting on student loans can have a host of negative consequences. Your debt could go into collections, and the government might try to collect payments by garnishing your wages, tax refunds and Social Security benefits. "Borrowers who miss payments on their federal student loans may be impacted by more severe consequences once the on-ramp ends," said student loan attorney Adam Minsky. "This can include late fees, negative credit reporting and default." Exception: If you're enrolled in the Saving in a Valuable Education repayment plan, your student loan payments will remain on hold until the courts decide the fate of this debt relief program. THE FRESH START PROGRAM WILL CLOSE The Fresh Start program gives borrowers an easy way to get their student loans out of default. You just have to enroll in the program online or over the phone by Oct. 2 at 3 a.m. ET to get your loans back into good standing. After applying for Fresh Start, the record of default would be removed from your credit report, and you would once again have access to income-driven repayment plans, deferment, forbearance and forgiveness programs. The government also automatically granted certain benefits to borrowers in default over the past year, such as pausing collection attempts and restoring access to their Federal Student Aid accounts. These benefits will also end for your defaulted loans if you decide not to apply for Fresh Start. HOW TO MANAGE YOUR STUDENT LOANS MOVING FORWARD It's a confusing time to have federal student loans right now. Not only are COVID-era benefits coming to an end, but your access to income-driven repayment plans has also been restricted for an undetermined amount of time. There are still steps you can take to manage your education debt and avoid default: * Review your student loan status: Start by signing into your Federal Student Aid account to review your loan balances, interest rates and repayment status. You can also see who your loan servicers are within your account. * Sign up for automatic payments: If you can afford your monthly payments, consider signing up for autopay. That way, you won't miss any bills and will score a 0.25% discount on your interest rate. * Discuss options with your loan servicer: If you can't afford payments, call your loan servicer to talk about your options, ideally before you miss any bills. Although access to IDR plans is currently limited, the loan servicer may place your student loans into an interest-free forbearance. * Get loans out of default: If you have loans in default, consider applying for the Fresh Start program by the end of the day on Sept. 30. If you miss this deadline, consider consolidation or rehabilitation to get them back into good standing. Consolidation offers a faster path to getting out of default, but rehabilitation can remove the record of default from your credit report. * Explore the PSLF Buyback program: The PSLF program offers loan forgiveness after ten years of working in public service. If you're a teacher or public service worker who has already fulfilled ten years of service, you may be able to "buy back" months spent in deferment or forbearance so you meet the "120 qualifying payments" requirement for PSLF. You can find more information on this PSLF Buyback opportunity here. Your guide to a better future * Deals * Reviews * Best Products * Gift Guide * Coupons * Videos * Software Downloads * About CNET * Press Room * Newsletters * Sitemap * Careers * Manage Preferences * Help Center * Licensing * Privacy Policy * Terms of Use * Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information * instagram * youtube * tiktok * facebook * x * flipboard US France Germany Japan Korea © 2024 CNET, a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. WE CARE ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY We and our 855 partners will store and access information on your device with your consent. Browsing data is collected through the use of cookies to process personal data. You can give or withdraw your consent by clicking on the `Show Purposes` button. You can manage your choices and exercise your right to object on the basis of legitimate interest at any time by clicking on the cog icon at the bottom left corner of every page. WE AND OUR PARTNERS PROCESS DATA TO PROVIDE: Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development. List of Partners (vendors) I Accept Reject All Show Purposes