A Majority of Voters With Student Loan Debt Are Not Confident They Can Make Their Monthly Payments
By Abby Springs and Anika Dandekar
After a three-year pause, federal student loan borrowers are once again on the hook for monthly student loan bills starting in next week. In March 2020, the Department of Education halted payment and interest as a form of financial relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, as part of negotiations in the bipartisan debt ceiling deal, the Fiscal Responsibility Act ended the pause on student loan payments. Because of this new law, over 45 million loan borrowers are set to resume monthly payments this October.
New polling from Data for Progress finds that 61% of voters with student loan debt are not confident they will be able to make their monthly payments when they resume next month. This includes 40% who report they are “not confident at all” and 21% who say they are “not very confident.”
The survey also asked voters with student loan debt about major changes to their monthly spending and savings, such as increasing credit card debt, saving less for goals or emergencies, or spending less on monthly necessities. We find that 58% of voters with student loan debt expect major changes when student loan payments restart.
When asked about their ability to make payments for specific things, a majority of voters with student loan debt report that their ability to afford basic necessities and pay off other debts would be affected.
Additionally, the survey asked voters about the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, a new program by the Biden administration to lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers. We find that the SAVE Plan is overwhelmingly popular, with 72% of voters in support of the plan, including 80 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Independents, and 63 percent of Republicans.
Abby Springs (@abby_springs) is the Press Secretary at Data for Progress.
Anika Dandekar(@AnikaDandekar) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
From September 27 to 28, 2023, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,255 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points amongst all likely voters, and ±6 percentage points amongst voters who currently have student loan debt.