COVID-19: Payment Relief for Student Loan Borrowers

Published on April 22, 2020

Includes Late Fees, Credit Reporting, Debt Collection, Payment Postponements

Morris County residents with commercially-owned Federal Family Education Program Loans or privately held student loans who are struggling to make payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be eligible for expanded payment relief.

Governor Phil Murphy and Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride announced that the state has secured relief options with private student loan servicers to expand protections the federal government granted to federal student loan borrowers.

This initiative will provide much needed relief to New Jerseyans who are struggling with student loans and other financial obligations during this crisis,'' said Gov. Murphy.

The federal CARES Act provided relief for students with federal loans, including suspension of monthly payments, interest, and involuntary collection activity until September 30. However, CARES does not apply to student loan borrowers with federal loans not owned by the U.S. government or to loans made by private lenders.

Under this state initiative, borrowers must contact their student loan servicer to identify options that are appropriate to their circumstances. Relief options offered by participating servicers include:

  • Providing a minimum of 90 days of forbearance relief;
  • Waiving late payment fees;
  • Ensuring no borrower is subject to negative credit reporting;
  • Ceasing debt collection lawsuits for 90 days;
  • Working with eligible borrowers to enroll in other applicable borrower assistance programs.

In addition to NJ HESAA, the following are private student loan servicers providing relief:

  • Aspire Resources
  • College Ave Student Loan Servicing
  • Earnest Operations
  • Edfinancial Services
  • Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation
  • Lendkey Technologies
  • Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA)
  • Navient Corp.
  • Nelnet, Inc.
  • SoFi Lending Corp.
  • Tuition Options
  • Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA)
  • Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC)

More information and a list of participating servicers may be found at dobi.nj.gov.

To determine the types of federal loans you have and who are your servicers, visit the U.S. Department of Education's National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) at nslds.ed.gov or call 800-433-3243.

Borrowers with private student loans can check contact information on monthly billing statements.

If you have questions or experience problems with a student loan servicer, contact the State Department of Banking and Insurance Hotline at 800-446-7467 (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays), or visit the Department website and click Consumer Assistance - Inquiries/Complaints, at https://www.dobi.nj.gov

For more information, see these COVID-19 related Questions and Answers for NJCLASS borrowers: https://www.hesaa.org/Documents/Misc/NJCLASS_Q_n_A.pdf

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