Millions of borrowers will have to start paying federal student loans again. Senators want to know if servicers are ready.

Millions of people will have to start repaying their federal student loans — deferred during the coronavirus pandemic — in just two months. A group of Democratic senators wants to know if four of the servicers that manage those loans are ready to support those borrowers, many of whom will be making payments on loans for the first time since early last year. 

"This simultaneous restart of 32 million borrowers' loans, half of whom will also be transferring to a new loan servicer, marks an unprecedented event with a heightened risk of borrower harm," reads a letter to the heads of those servicers signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, Richard Blumenthal and Tina Smith.

In August, the Biden administration announced it would push back the restart date for deferred federal student loans, previously set for October, to January 31, 2022 as the coronavirus pandemic continued to squeeze Americans' bank accounts. To protect borrowers, the Education Department announced in October it would hold student loan servicers to stronger standards on performance, transparency and accountability starting next year.