TAMPA, Fla — Tuesday morning at 10 a.m., the Supreme Court is expected to release more of the 10 remaining opinions left to release this term.
One of those opinions could be on the Federal Student Loan Debt Relief program.
The high court will decide two things: whether the six Republican-led states that sued the government over the program have the legal standing to do so and how those states would be harmed by the policy.
Regardless of the Supreme Court's decision, student loan payments will start back up in October, with interest payments set to begin in September. The payments have been on hold since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
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How to prepare to start paying back your student loans
For borrowers, how much debt relief they could see will depend on their situation. For Pell Grant recipients, they could receive up to $20,000 in debt cancellation, and for non-Pell Grant borrowers, up to $10,000.
About 20 million people will come out completely debt free if the student loan program survives the ruling. The remaining borrowers will have to pay something back.
It's why financial experts say people should start to prepare now. Paul Oster, with Better Qualified, a credit counseling service, said the worst thing you can do is wait.
"It's not going to just take care of itself," he said. "You have to be very proactive. Again, don't wait because there are millions of borrowers that are going to be trying to do the same thing at the last minute. And it's not going to be pretty."
Here are things experts suggest you do now:
- Start saving money
- Take a look at finances - make cuts to your budget to accommodate loan payments
- Get online and check what your current loan payment is
- Contact your loan company to see about switching payment plans to one that works for you
