The US government has restarted collecting student loan payments, which is causing many Americans' credit scores to fall. If people don't pay for 90 days, loan companies tell credit bureaus, which can seriously damage their credit. This makes it harder and more expensive to get car loans, home loans, and credit cards. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that in early 2025, over three million student loan borrowers saw their scores drop a lot. The US Department of Education stopped federal student loan payments in March 2020 because of the pandemic. They started them again in 2023, with a one-year period to adjust. However, the Trump administration began collecting overdue student loans again in late 2024.