Recent report shows how federal student loan borrowers’ are managing debt [Video]

TAMPA, Fla. — It’s been almost a year since federal student loan payments restarted, and a recent report sheds light on how borrowers handle that debt.

Like many people, Alexandra Serra’s federal student loan payments were paused during the pandemic. Then, payments restarted last October.

“You have to pay them back,” said Serra. “I did have to budget, consider my family, and you know where I could cut things from to make sure that that payment was made.”

A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report found of the borrowers whose loans had entered repayment and weren’t in default about half were current on their payments, nearly 30 percent were past due on their payments, and the rest were not expected to make payments because of deferment or forbearance.

“A lot of people are really squished on everyday living expenses that basically student loans come last,” said Christie Arkovich, the founding attorney for Arkovich Law. “And so, if …