What will happen if you stop loan payments for Student Loans? According to CNBC, President Biden said in November 2022 that some borrowers of federal student loans should plan to begin making payments in the spring or summer of 2023, depending on a number of factors.
A recent Morning Consult poll, however, revealed that 58% of individuals with school debt indicated they couldn’t afford the payments.

Approximately 1 in 3 borrowers intend to seek debt forgiveness but still haven’t applied (Getty Images / Morning Consult artwork by Sara Wickersham)
The New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel (CCP) estimates that by the end of 2021, 3 million Americans will be in default on their college loans.
About 270,000 owed money on their student loans but hadn’t yet defaulted, owing between 90 and 270 days.
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Your loan may be subject to late fees and penalties if you stop loan payments or you first miss a payment. The first day after you miss a student loan payment, your loan becomes past due or delinquent, according to the Department of Education (ED). Until you make other arrangements, such as a postponement, forbearance, or changing repayment schedules, your loan account is considered delinquent.

So what happens if you don’t pay your student loans? Late or missed “deliquent” payments can make it harder to get a credit card, car loan, or apartment lease. And if you default on a loan, the balance of the loan will become immediately due, your wages may be garnished, and your tax refund can be withheld, among other serious consequences. (Photo via https://www.sofi.com/)
After 90 days of late payments, missed payments are reported to credit bureaus and are periodically reported after that. The loan enters default after 270 days (or 9 months) of unpaid interest. Even after you have defaulted, interest will still be charged on your debt. Hence, if you’re not making payments, anticipate a growth in your balance before you start making reparation.
According to the Department of Education, acceleration is a process that takes place when a loan is in default. If you default on your federal student loan or you stop loan payments, the entire balance of the loan (principal and interest) becomes instantly payable.
The department also stated that, as of November 2021, private collections firms would no longer serve ED-held defaulted loans.
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Your loan holder may begin taking monies out of your salary or federal payments (such tax refunds) to pay down your debt once your debt has been expedited. Your ED-held loans will no longer be handled by the private collection agency that handled them previously.

Nearly 3 in 5 Student Loan Borrowers Say They Won’t Be Able to Afford Their Payments Come January. Women, adults in households making less than $50,000 annually are especially unconfident about their ability to make student loan payments once the federal pause ends next year (Photo via Getty Images / Morning Consult artwork by Sara Wickersham)
If you fall behind, you can catch up by sending in several timely payments in a row.