After five payment pauses that began roughly two years ago, federal student loan payments are set to resume in May 2022.
The first payment suspension came in March 2020 when Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and lasted for six months through September 2020. The second and third pauses came via presidential executive order (one from Trump and one from Biden) and extended the payment pause through January 2021 and again through September 2021. The Department of Education set a fourth extension through January 31, 2022. Then in December 2021, President Biden announced a fifth pause through May 1, 2022, due to ongoing public health challenges.