Since last March, 43 million borrowers with federal loans owned by the government have had the option to halt their payments. But roughly six million borrowers whose loans were part of the Family Federal Education Loans program — or F.F.E.L. For many decades, federal student loans were insured by the government but made by private lenders. During the Great Recession, the government purchased some — but not all — of the private lenders’ existing federal loans. Any seized refunds or wage garnishments that were taken since March 2020 will be retroactively refunded, the Education Department said.

Source: New York Times March 30, 2021 18:22 UTC