The US government has started collecting student loan payments again, which is causing millions of Americans' credit scores to drop. If people miss payments for 90 days, the loan companies tell credit bureaus, and this can hurt credit ratings a lot, similar to declaring bankruptcy. This makes it harder or more expensive to get things like car loans, home loans, and credit cards. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that in early 2025, more than 3 million people with student loans saw their scores fall a lot. The US Department of Education stopped federal student loan payments in March 2020 because of the pandemic. Payments started again in 2023, with a one-year period where people weren't immediately penalized for not paying. However, the Trump administration began collecting unpaid student loans again in late 2024.