SURVEY: NEARLY HALF OF U.S. ADULTS WITH STUDENT LOANS ARE WORRIED THAT END OF REPAYMENT PAUSE WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT THEIR LIVES

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National Endowment for Financial Education

Oct 05, 2023, 06:00 ET

4 in 5 Borrowers Say They'll Have to Make Financial Changes as Payments Resume in October

DENVER, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. adults with student loans are unsettled and anxious as student loan payments are set to resume after a three-year pause. A new survey from the nonprofit National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) finds that 49% of borrowers are worried that the end of the repayment pause will negatively impact their lives, with 83% of student loan borrowers saying they will have to make budgetary changes. The survey also finds 47% of borrowers with student loans say the end of the repayment pause will make it less likely they will pursue additional education.

"Borrowers with student loan balances are unsettled and anxious heading into October as payments are expected to resume, and there is a ripple effect beyond those with outstanding student loans," says Billy Hensley, Ph.D., president and CEO of NEFE. "With 83% of borrowers saying they will have to make budgetary changes, this estimates that one in four of all U.S. adults will be reducing their spending in other areas—and that's a shift in consumer spending that could be felt across the entire economy."

Key outcomes of the polling include:

Nearly half of U.S. adults currently with student loans made most or every payment during the pandemic (49%), while 30% made no payments during that time.
One in three borrowers say they will need to cut $500 per month or more from their budgets to make their student loan payments, with 10% estimating they will need to cut at least $1,000 per month from their budgets.
Among student loan borrowers, 64% are worried about the end of the payment pause. In contrast, when a similar question was asked to the general population, 56% said they are not worried about the end of the payment pause.

"Thoughtful financial education instruction delivered at the K-12 level does offer some benefit when it comes to paying for college," adds Hensley. "Providing access to financial education in high school lowers total debt for college graduates and is a proactive measure for students currently enrolled, or about to be enrolled, in college."

For full methodology and more on this survey, visit the NEFE website.

SOURCE National Endowment for Financial Education