FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – In three months, 43 million federal student loan borrowers are expected to resume payments on their student loans.

For many Americans, student loans are their introduction to debt. When the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the economy, these federal loans were put on a penalty free hold under the CARES Act. The extension was initially supposed to last for only six months, but former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden extended it multiple times.

“As we all know the pandemic has sort of crunched family budgets, so not having to fork over those hundreds of dollar payments towards the federal government has been really beneficial to borrowers,” said Andrew Pentis, senior writer at Student Loan Hero Inc., and a certified student loan counselor. “It’s also been really helpful for borrowers who are already behind on their student loans. That’s because this pause has also given them the ability to stave off delinquency and default and all of those consequences such as wage garnishment.”

The last extension is expected to end in early 2022, with payments resuming in February. Pentis told WANE 15’s Briana Brownlee that the process of resuming payments will be complicated. The federal government is expected to shuffle the deck and other loan services could pick up a borrower’s loan.

With the last extension ending, new scams for student loan forgiveness are on the rise. The Better Business Bureau of Northeast Indiana…