Episode 110: Federal Student Loan Updates

This month, the federal government began taking action against student loan borrowers with accounts in default. In this episode of Making Cents of Money, learn what that means for borrowers and what options might be available. Show Notes: Cunningham, M. (2025, May 5). Student loan collections resume as record number of borrowers fall behind. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/defaulted-loans-restart-collection-delinquency-may-5/ Dunbar, M. (2025, May 6). US student loan collections resume: Here's what you need to know. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/06/us-student-loan-collections-explainer Federal Student Aid. (n.d.). Rehabilitated loan. U.S. Department of Education. https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/loan-rehabilitation Federal Student Aid. (n.d.). What is the difference between student loan delinquency and default? U.S. Department of Education. https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/what-is-difference-between-loan-delinquency-and-default Hanson, M. (2025, March 16). Student loan debt statistics [2025]. Education Data Initiative. https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics Kim, J. (2024, September 30). Deadline for Fresh Start defaulted student loans program gets extended. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/09/30/nx-s1-5133296/student-loan-default-fresh-start-explainer Prater, N. (2025, May 6). Trump administration gets aggressive on student-debt collection. New York Magazine. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-admin-gets-aggressive-on-student-debt-collection.html Reyes, Y., & Lalljee, J. (2025, May 7). What Floridians should know as student loan penalty pause ends. Axios Tampa Bay. https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2025/05/07/floridian-student-loan-penalty-pause-ends Student Loan Borrower Assistance. (2024, September 20). Fresh Start ends Sept. 30: What borrowers need to know. https://studentloanborrowerassistance.org/fresh-start-ends-sept-30-what-borrowers-need-to-know/ TransUnion. (2025, May 5). As federal collections activity resumes, more than one in five student loan borrowers are 90+ days delinquent. https://newsroom.transunion.com/may-2025-student-loan-update/ U.S. Department of Education. (2025, April 21). U.S. Department of Education to begin federal student loan collections and other actions to help borrowers get back into repayment. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-begin-federal-student-loan-collections-other-actions-help-borrowers-get-back-repayment