Return to Federal Repayment FAQ

Penn’s Office of Student Registration & Financial Services is reminding student, parent, and alumni borrowers who are in repayment status and may still owe on a federal student loan that the payment pause enacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic has ended. As a result, interest on federal student loans began to accrue again on September 1, and payments will resume in October. 

Return to Repayment FAQ

There are many resources available to you to help you navigate the return to repayment. 

Additional Tips

SRFS encourages borrowers to take some additional steps before repayment begins:

  • Verify and update your Social Security Number on your academic record. While not required for admission, your SSN is required to ensure your enrollment is reported to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).
  • Update contact information on your loan servicer's website and in your Student Aid profile.   
  • Review your auto-debit enrollment or sign up for the first time. To do so, log in to your loan servicer’s website or contact your loan servicer directly. 
  • Consider whether it is beneficial to apply for the new SAVE Plan. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan is an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan that is intended to lower student debt. The SAVE plan calculates payments based on a borrower’s income and family size instead of their loan balance and forgives remaining balances after a certain number of years.

To help borrowers successfully return to repayment, the U.S. Department of Education also created a temporary on-ramp period through Sept. 30, 2024. This on-ramp period protects borrowers from having a delinquency reported to credit reporting agencies. This prevents the worst consequences of missed, late, or partial payments. However, payments are still due, and interest will continue to accrue during this time.  

More information about the on-ramp period, as well as resources to help borrowers prepare for student loan payments to resume, can be found at StudentAid.gov.