Lessons from the Loan Pause: More Evidence that Student Debt is Reducing Marriage and Childbearing

Abstract

A brief report prepared by Arielle Kuperberg, Daniel Collier, Joan Maya Mazelis, and Fenaba Addo for the Council on Contemporary Families symposium Policies Affecting Families: What We Know, and What to Expect in the Second Trump Term

In Vice President Vance’s first public address after taking office in January he laid out his priorities, stating “I want more babies in America.” Our research suggests that one way the second Trump administration can achieve this goal is by addressing the student loan crisis among young adults.

When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, the Trump administration quickly moved to freeze loan payments and interest for public student loans. The loan freeze ultimately lasted until September 2023, with payments resuming in October 2023, giving borrowers more than a three-year break in paying off their loans. This loan pause – and the resumption of payments – has profoundly affected the nearly 43 million Americans with federal student loan debt.

Our research has examined how student loans have affected American borrowers, and how their behavior changed during and after the loan pause. We have uncovered further evidence that studentloan debt is leading to delays in family formation for many young adults, contributing to the record low childbearing rates and the record high typical age at first marriage seen in the United States today.