More student loan borrowers have had their payments at least three months past due once or more since 2025—and changes to the SAVE Plan could make it worse.
Over 17% of student loan borrowers have fallen at least 90 days past due on their payments at least once since Q1 in 2025, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report released May 12.
The report also found that 2.6 million borrowers defaulted on their student loans last quarter—meaning they didn’t make scheduled student loan payments for more than 270 days—compared to 2025 Q4’s roughly 1 million borrowers.
Starting July 1, there might be even more borrowers who will fall behind or default on their student loan payments after the SAVE Plan, a type of income-driven repayment plan, sunsets.
Borrowers who are behind on payments can and should take steps to prevent them from reaching the 270-day default deadline. Depending on your type of loans and repayment plan, there are forbearance, deferment, consolidation and refinancing options available.
Steps You Can Take if Your Student Loan Is Delinquent
If you have a scheduled student loan payment that’s even one day late, your account is considered delinquent.
“We’ve known delinquencies and defaults have been going up at a somewhat scary rate for months,” says Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors. “The number of recent grads who are 90 days past due or more is very troubling.”
If your loans go into default, you could be at risk of involuntary collections like wage garnishment and Social Security offsets, which began again on May 5.
Before that happens, look into these options to help you catch up on student loan payments:
- Forbearance: If you have federal student loans, you may qualify for student loan forbearance—which lets you skip payments or temporarily make smaller payments, though interest will accrue—if you’re facing financial difficulties, medical expenses, changes in employment or other reasons, depending on your loan servicer.
- Consolidation: Federal student loan borrowers can combine eligible loans into one direct consolidation loan. Consolidation can give you a lower monthly payment, access to income-driven repayment plans and a fixed interest rate.
- Deferment: Deferment, like forbearance, allows you to miss payments—except interest won’t accrue on some types of loans with deferment. You may qualify if you’re undergoing cancer treatment, experiencing economic hardship or attending school at least half time, among other reasons.
- Refinancing: If you have private student loans, refinancing can potentially lower your interest rate and reduce your monthly payments. Federal student loan borrowers may also be able to refinance their loans, but they’ll lose protection options like deferment and forbearance.
Best Student Loan Refinance Rates
If you’re considering student loan refinancing, it’s important to compare lenders and interest rates.
Refinancing can potentially reduce your student loan payments by lowering your interest rate—but that can depend on your income, credit history and other factors. The better your credit score and income are, the better your chances are of getting a lower rate through refinancing.
Keep in mind you would lose federal protections like income-driven repayment plans, deferment and forbearance if you refinance your federal loans into private loans—so explore all your options first.
| COMPANY | FORBES ADVISOR RATING | FIXED APR | MINIMUM CREDIT SCORE | LEARN MORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
   |
Starting at 3.99%
|
680
|
Via Credible.com’s Website
|
|
 |
3.95% to 9.99%²
|
665
|
On Earnest’s Website
|
|
 |
4.15% to 9.06%
|
700
|
||
|
|
3.99% to 9.99%*
|
Not disclosed
|
Via Credible.com’s Website
|
|
|
|
Starting at 4.39%
|
Not disclosed
|
Bottom Line
More borrowers have been at least 90 days late on student loan payments at least once compared to last year, according to recently released Federal Reserve Bank of New York data. Finding a plan that works for you to reduce your student loan burden is essential to avoiding default—and there are several options like deferment, forbearance, consolidation and refinancing that may help.
