Appearing in U.S. News & World Report on March 13, 2026, Greg Garrison talks to Abby Shafroth, managing director of advocacy at NCLC about how a federal appeals court dealt a fatal blow to the most affordable federal student loan repayment plan, starting a countdown clock for more than 7 million borrowers to transition into a new plan and resume monthly payments.
Because forbearance has gone on for so long, it’s likely many borrowers haven’t logged into their student aid account in over a year. They may not even recognize the name of their loan servicer and ignore communications.
“It’s going to be a big problem,” says Abby Shafroth, managing director of advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center. “A lot of these borrowers haven’t made payments in a year and a half, some of them might not have frankly ever made a payment. They might not even know where to make the payment. They’re not going to be necessarily aware of what’s going on. It’s going to be a big communication challenge to actually reach those borrowers.”
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