You can get a refund on any student-loan payments made during the pandemic pause

Student-loan borrowers who tried to get ahead of payments during the pause might have gotten their debt canceled. Here's how they can get refunded.

• Biden extended the student-loan payment pause for his fifth time, through the end of 2022.
• He also canceled up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers.
• If borrowers made payments during the pause since March 2020, they can request a refund.

Student-loan borrowers who took a stab at lowering their debt during the payment pause might be eligible for a refund.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden extended the student-loan payment pause for his fifth time, through December 31, along with an announcement of up to $20,000 in student-loan forgiveness for federal borrowers. This was a long-awaited announcement — since Biden took office, borrowers were waiting for the president to fulfill his $10,000 debt cancellation campaign pledge, and some might have even made payments during the pause due to the uncertainty of looming relief.

Now that loan forgiveness is on the way for Pell Grant recipients and federal borrowers making under $125,000 a year, though, some of those who qualify might regret the payments they made since March 2020, when former President Donald Trump first implemented the payment pause. 

Luckily, if you're one of those borrowers, you might be able to get a refund. In an announcement on the studentaid.gov website detailing the relief that is to come, it noted that borrowers "can get a refund for any payment (including auto-debit payments) you make during the payment pause (beginning March 13, 2020). Contact your loan servicer to request that your payment be refunded."

It's unclear exactly how many student-loan borrowers might benefit from this, and Insider has spoken to over two dozen borrowers who chose not to make payments during the pandemic pause, citing the significant relief the lack of an additional monthly bill had brought them. One borrower, for example, previously told Insider that the pause had saved her $377 each month, allowing her to pay off, in full, her hospital bills from giving birth during the pandemic.

"It just shows how without student loans, I can afford life," she said.

However, Biden noted on Wednesday that this will be the "final" extension of the payment pause, meaning borrowers should anticipate resuming payments in January.