More than 9 million student loan borrowers now in default

[00:00:00]The number of borrowers defaulting on their student loans has jumped dramatically. As of March 2026, more than 9 million students are in default.

[00:00:09]Data shows more than 4.2 million borrowers defaulted between April 2025 and March of 2026. The most dramatic increase was in 2024 after a Biden era freeze on loan payments ended after the pandemic. And another surge could be ahead after the Trump administration ended the save plan, which impacts millions more borrowers. Let's bring in Daniel Danielle Douglas Gabriel to explain what's happening. She's a national higher education reporter for the Washington Post. Danielle, good morning. Help us understand what is driving these numbers.

[00:00:44]>> So, thanks for having me. And you know, we're seeing this spike in default because all of the protections that were afforded borrowers because of the pandemic are completely over. As you mentioned, there was a three and a half three and a half year long pause on federal student loans. And then there was a 12-month grace period after that to kind of ease borrowers back into repayment. The trouble is a lot of people didn't know when that ended. I spoke to so many borrowers who like I didn't know payments went fully back into effect and a lot of people were missing payments. You saw a lot of credit scores dropping.

[00:01:19]But you also have a lot of folks now who simply cannot afford their monthly payment as the cost of living has increased. So, there are folks who are struggling. There are people who don't really know what to do. And so we're seeing that in the numbers here.

[00:01:33]>> So, I guess Danielle, since the save plan went away and that month those monthly payments went away, they seem to have skyrocketed for some people.

[00:01:43]Explain how our viewers understand how that jump happened. Why the jump happened.

[00:01:49]>> So, save was by far the most generous repayment plan that was based on your earnings, right? Why it was so generous is because it excluded more of your earnings in the calculations that came up with your monthly payment plan. Now, with that loan payment program gone, the remaining ones certainly can be helpful, but they're not going to be as low a monthly payment as what you saw on SAVE.

[00:02:13]So, there are a lot of people now who are switching to other plans and seeing sometimes a $100, $200 increase in their monthly bill, sometimes double depending on how much they owe. And so, they're having a really hard time trying to figure out how they're going to make those payments.

[00:02:30]>> Those are significant increases, Danielle, and that impacts not only what you're able to pay for when it comes to your groceries and your other monthly bills, but the big issue of default.

[00:02:38]What's the support out there for people who are worried about going into default?

[00:02:43]>> So, first thing to do is call your student loan servicer. These are the companies that work with the federal department to collect your loans and to offer some guidance on as to what you can do. One of the other thing great resources is going on Federal Student Aid, studentaid.gov, which you can find a lot of information about rehabilitating your loan. If you're in default, you can make, I think, nine consecutive payments within a 10-month span to bring your loan back current, which will help with your credit, which will help to find you a payment plan that you can afford. So, you can take these steps to avoid the worst of default, which among many others is wage garnishment, having the federal government take a portion of your monthly payment and you certainly don't want that, especially in this economic climate.

[00:03:28]>> All right, Danielle Douglas Gabriel, thank you for that clarity in your reporting. We appreciate it.