The Supreme Court recently struck down the Biden administration’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 of student loan debt for certain borrowers.* While this ruling is important, it’s just a drop in the bucket for most newly minted dentists, who are graduating today with student loan debt averaging over $300,000. Worse yet, many graduates from specialty residency programs have student loan debt totaling $400,000-$600,000 or more.

Interest And Payments Resuming Shortly

Of much greater importance is recent legislation ending the pause on interest accruals and student loan payments, which began on March 13, 2020. The new law ends the moratorium, effective August 31, 2023, and applies to 42 million borrowers who owe about $1.4 trillion in federal student loans. The moratorium saved borrowers about $5 billion a month, or approximately $400 a month per borrower on average. Fortunately, the forgiveness clock has continued to run during the moratorium on the total time needed for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and for the Income-Driven Repayment plans (IDR) forgiveness as discussed below, which is exceptionally good news for many young doctors burdened with large student loan balances.

Fortunately, you’ve got some time to prepare for the coming shock to your wallet! While the student loan pause expires August 31, 2023, it will take