Student loans are being suspended as federal officials scramble to mute the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Donald Trump, in an update Friday, announced that all federally held student loan interest and loan payments are being suspended for the next 60 days. Trump said that could be extended further if conditions require.
“If we need more time, we’ll extend that period of time,” he said.
Borrowers should contact their lenders, Trump noted, but the government is waiving all interest on federally held loans. And this might not be the end of the relief for students.
“We have more to come on student loans, more good news for the students. But we’ll do that at a different time,” Trump said.
More than 44 million Americans have $1.5 trillion in outstanding student loan debt at present. It’s one of the largest consumer debt categories. That’s a 33% increase from 2014.
Some 69% of the Class of 2018 took out student loans. They graduated with an average debt of $29,800 per student.
Trump also announced he was waiving mandatory standardized testing for students in middle and high schools around the country for the remainder of the school year.
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