Student loan forgiveness: Got a refund? You may have to pay it back
A U.S. Supreme Court decision blocking President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program will likely create an unexpected issue for some people who made payments during the COVID-19 moratorium.
Fortune is reporting people who made payments and then asked for are refund in anticipation of loan forgiveness could be liable for repaying that money. So, if a borrower had $10,000 in federal student loan debt before the payment pause and paid off $2,000 during the pandemic and then received that money back, they could be liable to repay that money.
“Borrowers who requested a refund should be prepared to try and send it back before interest restarts if they’ve saved it. If they haven’t, they should check their account in the next few weeks to see what their payment will be once repayments restart,” Betsy Mayotte, president of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors, told Fortune. “If it’s unaffordable, they should explore the different repayment options and apply for the one that best fits their needs.”
Refunds were made available to people with federal loans who made payments or paid off their loans in full since March 2020, when a moratorium on payments and accrual of interest was first instituted at the start of the pandemic. Biden’s now defunct plan would have forgiven up to $20,000 in loans for Pell Grant holders and up to $10,000 for those with other federal loans.
For many borrowers, the most likely scenario will be setting up a repayment plan. You can see more on those options here.