The federal student loan system is currently being upended by major changes and problems, creating an deepening crisis for borrowers. New regulations that went into effect to implement the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act are restructuring borrowers’ repayment plan options, often pushing their monthly payments much higher than they were before. And worsening glitches and servicing errors are leading to mounting problems for borrowers struggling to enroll their student loans in critical repayment and loan forgiveness programs.

“In recent months, debtors have experienced a litany of servicing errors at the hands of a broken Department of Education and failed Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon,” said the Debt Collective, a national debtor’s union advocating for people with student loans, in a statement earlier this week calling for national pause on student loan payments. “In August, many student debtors received ‘Reduction’ notifications towards their Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) credit, causing credit toward cancellation to be illegally erased instantly. In June, thousands of debtors were sent false notices by their student loan servicer MOHELA asserting their payment would be $50 per month, only to be charged drastically higher amounts by their student loan servicer. The Department of Education admitted that thousands of debtors received monthly payment estimates that were too high by hundreds of dollars. Another group of debtors received monthly payment estimates that were too low.”

Amid all of these problems, navigating the federal student loan system right now might seem impossible. And it certainly can feel as though borrowers can’t catch a break. But there are a few small things borrowers can do to try to protect themselves and get out in front of at least some of these issues, before they become larger problems.

Periodically Download And Retain Key Student Loan Records

One of the most important things borrowers can do is routinely download and save key student loan records. This can be critical as borrowers are reporting major loan data and servicing errors, such as the Education Department rescinding earned qualifying payments........

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