Here are options for student loan borrowers struggling to make payments

Many student loan borrowers are struggling to resume their payments.

When the bills restarted after a more than three-year-long reprieve, just 60% of people with federal education loans had made a payment by mid-November, U.S. Department of Education data shows.

“The fact that so few borrowers have been able to make a payment is unfortunately unsurprising,” said Persis Yu, deputy executive director at the Student Borrower Protection Center. “[People] were struggling to make payments before the pandemic.”

Outstanding education debt in the U.S. has surpassed $1.7 trillion. In fact, education debt burdens Americans more than credit card or auto debt. The average loan balance at graduation has tripled since the 1990s, to $30,000 from $10,000. Around 7% of student loan borrowers owe more than $100,000.

To help cushion the blow of resuming payments, the Biden administration is implementing a 12-month “on ramp” to repayment, during which borrowers are shielded from the worst consequences of falling behind. President Joe Biden also said his administration is still trying to figure out a way to cancel student debt after the Supreme Court struck down its first plan.

Here are the other options for borrowers unable to pay their bills.

Struggling borrowers should first see if they qualify for a deferment, experts say. That’s because their loans may not accrue interest under that option, whereas they almost always do in a forbearance.

If you’re unemployed when student loan payments resume, you can request an unemployment deferment with your servicer. If you’re dealing with another financial challenge, meanwhile, you may be eligible for an economic hardship deferment.

Those who qualify for a hardship deferment include people receiving certain types of federal or state aid and anyone volunteering in the Peace Corps, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

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