Key points from the poll results include:
- As a result of the COVID 19 crisis, payments have been paused for federal student loan borrowers nationwide until at least September 2021 Almost one in three 28 Minnesota borrowers are not confident that they will be able to resume payments on their student loans when they need to.
- Three quarters of MN student loan borrowers report that their student loans cause them stress Additionally, more than half of borrowers 59 report they would have trouble paying for an unexpected expense or are already falling behind in their finances.
- A fifth 22 of MN student loan borrowers are unaware of the current pause in payments Further, 30 report having problems that have resulted in lower credit and a quarter of borrowers 27 report that their servicer did not tell them about income driven repayment options.
- Over half 51 of Minnesota’s student loan borrowers struggle to afford their payments Borrowers report that they have delayed saving for retirement 50 put off buying a home 29 been unable to buy basic necessities like food or clothing 26 put off starting a family 20 or have gone without medical care 17 in order to pay their student loans.
- A strong majority of MN borrowers, across the political spectrum, support eliminating student loan interest on all federal loans 83 designating an office in Minnesota to take student loan complaints and advocate for borrowers 79 and reducing student loan debt by 50,000 for all borrowers 71.