Student loan reprieve during coronavirus pandemic

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic may bring some students reprieve as student loans are being pushed back by the National Student Loan Service Centre (NSLSC), according to CTV News.

The NSLSC posted a statement to their website saying that payments will be frozen and interest-free for the time being. Automatic withdrawals will be stopped and those who pay by cheque won’t have to mail in payments. This applies to both federally and provincially loans issued in Ontario, B.C., Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

For those who have student loans in Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Alberta or Manitoba, only the federal portion will have to be paid. The freeze only applies to the Canada Student Loan which is administered by the  NSLSC.

Student loans in Quebec have also been suspended for six months.

If you are still in school, "The suspension does not impact your loan since you have no payment to make and interest does not accumulate while you are in-study," the NSLSC says.

If you’re still in your six-month non-repayment period, payments remain interest-free and on hold during this time.

Interest does accrue, however, on the provincial portion of the loan for the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. There will be an exception made between March 30th and September 30th, for those same provinces and the loans will be interest-free.

Should your period of non-repayment end during the suspension period, your payments and interest will be suspended automatically until September 30th. At the beginning of October 2020, you will begin repaying your loans.

If you have already begun to repay your loans, "You do not have to do anything," wrote the NSLSC. "Your loan will be interest and payment free until September 30th and you will resume repaying your loan in October 2020."

The online NSLSC portal will remain functioning for those who wish to manually continue payments throughout the suspension period.