WASHINGTON– President Trump announced the administration will allow federal student loan borrowers to suspend their payments without penalty for at least 60 days. The president initially announced a suspension in interest on federally held student loans, before expanding the offer.
“Borrowers should contact their lenders, but we’ve given them very strong instructions,” Trump added. “That’s a big thing, that’s going to make a lot of students very happy.”
The decision has gotten the support of CU Student Choice.
“We applaud the administration and the Dept. of Education for putting forth a variety of measures to help federal student loan borrowers during these uncertain times, “ said Scott Patterson, president and CEO of Credit Union Student Choice. “First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with our fellow citizens being impacted by this virus, and like our credit union partners, our first order of business is supporting impacted members.
“To do so, we immediately created a natural disaster forbearance process that gives our credit unions the ability to extend a three-month forbearance upon request to their members with a private student loan who are encountering repayment issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” continued Patterson. “In addition, we are working closely with credit unions who may wish to take further measures, such as temporary rate adjustments and/or waiving of fees. As the pandemic unfolds, we will evaluate additional ways to help members successfully navigate education funding challenges during these stressful times.”