A recent analysis indicates that over 25% of borrowers have temporarily suspended their payments. The number of US federal student loan borrowers pausing payments has more than doubled compared to the same period in 2024.

According to data from the US Department of Education, expert Mark Kantrowitz, about 10.3 million borrowers were in forbearance. This is a type of payment pause in the third quarter of 2025. This is a significant increase from 2.9 million in the same period of 2024. Additionally, 3.4 million borrowers are in deferment, another type of payment pause, which is a small increase from 3.2 million in 2024.

Over 13 million borrowers have paused their student loan payments, underscoring the difficulty many face in managing loans alongside essential expenses such as childcare and housing. This increase in payment pauses highlights the financial challenges confronting borrowers.

A Growing Struggle To Repay The Debt

Both forbearance and deferment allow individuals to temporarily suspend their student loan payments. Deferments are often for specific reasons like losing a job or getting very sick. Forbearance is a more general option for individuals who are unable to afford their payments.

Looking at data from April to June, the number of borrowers using an economic hardship deferment has doubled. An expert’s analysis shows that more than a quarter of the 40 million-plus federal student loan borrowers are currently using one of these payment pauses. At the same time, the number of people using an unemployment deferment also went up.

Financial planner Douglas Boneparth told CNBC that these numbers show many borrowers are struggling to keep up with their loan payments. Rising costs for things like childcare and housing are making it even harder.

Why More Borrowers Are Pausing Payments

The big increase in people pausing their student loan payments is linked to the recent cancellation of the Biden administration’s SAVE plan. This program gave borrowers new ways to manage their debt, but it was challenged in court and then repealed by the Trump administration this summer.

All borrowers who had been enrolled in the SAVE plan were automatically placed into a forbearance status in mid-2024. This was a result of this legal and political action. This temporary payment pause was a way to handle the uncertainty caused by the legal dispute.

While this forbearance remains an option for these individuals, a major change has occurred. Interest is now being added to their loans during this pause. According to the Education Department, around 7 million people had signed up for the SAVE plan, all of whom are now impacted by this change.

New Roadblocks for Borrowers

Nancy Nierman, who helps people with student loan debt, told CNBC that the changes will be especially hard on borrowers for whom the SAVE plan was the only affordable way to manage their payments.

According to Kantrowitz, many borrowers are facing serious delays when trying to switch from the SAVE forbearance to a different repayment plan that is based on their income. By the end of July, the Education Department reportedly had a backlog of over 1.3 million applications for these new plans.

How Repayment Options and Costs Are Changing

The cancellation of the SAVE plan has left borrowers with fewer affordable ways to pay back their loans. The SAVE plan was especially helpful for people with lower incomes because it had lower monthly payments compared to other plans.

This is how much borrowers would have paid under the old SAVE plan versus the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan, which is now one of the main options:

•   A borrower making $75,000 a year would have paid only $166 per month with the SAVE plan, but now has to pay $429 a month under the IBR plan.

•   While temporarily stopping payments can help in the short term, it has a long-term cost. During a payment pause like forbearance or deferment, interest often continues to add up.

•   An expert estimates that a typical student loan borrower with a balance of $39,000 could see about $219 in new interest added to their loan each month. This means their total debt will grow, even if they aren’t making payments.

Long-Term Consequences and Warnings

The biggest risk of pausing payments is that interest continues to add up, making the loan balance even bigger and harder to manage over time. This is according to financial planner Douglas Boneparth. He warns that this cycle of stopping payments can prevent borrowers from reaching important life goals, like saving for buying a house, starting a family, or retirement.

There is a recent increase in borrowers pausing their payments, and a huge number of delayed applications for new repayment plans. This shows the ongoing difficulties that federal student loan borrowers in the U.S. are facing. These challenges are being caused by both changes in government policies and pressure from the current economy.

Conclusion

The sharp rise in payment pauses and the large backlog of applications show that many people are having trouble paying their loans. Policy changes and economic pressures could trap borrowers in growing debt and delay their financial security. The end of the SAVE plan has made things even harder for student loan borrowers.