Student loan borrowers aren't expected to make payments again until the end of January 2021

• The deadline for student loan forbearance was extended until the end of January 2021, Education Sec. Betsy DeVos announced Friday.
• More than 40 million student loan borrowers in the US were not expected to make payments on their federal student loans as part of the CARES Act package passed by Congress earlier this year as the pandemic posed financial insecurity for many Americans.
• The extension on student loan forbearance opens up the opportunity for President-elect Joe Biden to act on the policy after he is inaugurated on January 20, whether it be to extend or terminate the program or forgive student loans altogether.

If you have student loans, you just got an extra month of reprieve.

Education Sec. Betsy DeVos announced Friday that the period for federal student loan forbearance will be extended until the end of January 2021 in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Payments made during the forbearance period will be subject to a 0% interest rate and put towards the principal amount.

More than 40 million student loan borrowers in the US were not expected to make payments to federal students loans as part of the CARES package passed by Congress earlier this year as the pandemic posed financial insecurity for many Americans.

The forbearance period was set to last through September of this year, but President Donald Trump extended the deadline via executive order through the end of 2021.

"The coronavirus pandemic has presented challenges for many students and borrowers, and this temporary pause in payments will help those who have been impacted," DeVos said in a statement.

"The added time also allows Congress to do its job and determine what measures it believes are necessary and appropriate," she continued. "The Congress, not the Executive Branch, is in charge of student loan policy."

The extension on student loan forbearance opens up the opportunity for President-elect Joe Biden to act on the policy after he is inaugurated on January 20, whether it be to extend or terminate the program or forgive student loans altogether.

He previously introduced a proposal to forgive $10,000 of student loan debt per borrower as part of pandemic relief, which is within his power to do via executive order. Biden also recently threw his support behind the $908 billion stimulus package approved by Congress, which doesn't include any plan to cancel all student loans.