Student loan repayments could slam big-name retailers this fall

foxbusiness.com:

Constitutional attorney Mark Smith breaks down the Supreme Court decision Friday that struck down President Biden’s student loan handout.

The Supreme Court struck down President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan Friday, adding a layer of uncertainty to those straddled with payments. 

For more than three years, federal student loan borrowers have not had to make monthly payments. But that pandemic-era pause is coming to an end this fall, setting up a financial shock for millions of Americans and the big-name stores where they shop. 

About 44 million borrowers in the U.S. were affected by the payment pause, which initially began in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration extended the pause for the eighth time in November but will not do so again as part of the bipartisan debt ceiling deal approved by Congress. 

Payments, which will resume Aug. 30, can be substantial. The average monthly bill hovers between $200 and $299 per person, although it is even higher for some borrowers, according to most recent Federal Reserve data. 

WHAT THE DEBT CEILING DEAL COULD MEAN FOR STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS

Shoppers walk through a store at Tysons Corner Mall in Tysons, Va., April 2, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

Collectively, borrowers will resume paying about $10 billion a month, according to a recent analysis from JPMorgan. 

The resumption of these payments will likely force households to cut back on spending in other areas, particularly retail, according to a note from UBS analyst Jay Sole. 

STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS ARE RESUMING SOON — BE READY

«Inflation and the overall macro environment has caused U.S. consumers to defer many discretionary purchases over the past