On Aug. 6, the U.S. Department of Education announced a final extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest and collections until Jan. 31, 2022. The department believes this additional time and a definitive end date will allow borrowers to plan for the resumption of payments and reduce the risk of delinquency and defaults after restart. The department will continue its work to transition borrowers smoothly back into repayment, including by improving student loan servicing.

The department will begin notifying borrowers about this final extension in the coming days, and it will release resources and information about how to plan for payment restart as the end of the pause approaches.