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How the pause on federal student loan repayments has helped borrowers find financial footing

Published April 15, 2022 at 10:40 AM PDT
In this May 17, 2018, file photo, new graduates line up before the start of the Bergen Community College commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Obtaining a college degree has increasingly coincided with ever-higher student debt loads. Since 2004, total student debt has climbed more than 540 percent to $1.4 trillion, according to the New York Federal Reserve. (Seth Wenig, File/AP)
In this May 17, 2018, file photo, new graduates line up before the start of the Bergen Community College commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Obtaining a college degree has increasingly coincided with ever-higher student debt loads. Since 2004, total student debt has climbed more than 540 percent to $1.4 trillion, according to the New York Federal Reserve. (Seth Wenig, File/AP)

The Biden administration extended a freeze on federal student loan payments this month. It’s the sixth extension in the two years since the pandemic began.

Alpha Taylor is one federal student loan borrower with a six-figure debt. He tells host Peter O’Dowd how the break from payments has helped him.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.