What you need to know about the government’s break for student loan borrowers amid the coronavirus

Amid the bad news piling up from COVID-19, one positive development emerged on Friday: Interest on federal student loans would be waived until further notice. 

That’s never happened before and is an acknowledgment by the government of how tightly this pandemic could squeeze Americans’ finances. Over the last decade, the average interest rate on federal student loans has been around 5.5%, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. Meanwhile, the typical monthly student loan bill is close to $400. 

As of midday Monday, it appeared lenders were still waiting on the government for instructions on how to roll out the unprecedented policy. (The U.S. Department of Education’s federal student loans are serviced by some nine different companies.)