Federal student loan borrowers should start repaying their loans so as not to affect their credit scores. A pause on credit reporting ended Jan 1.

As delinquent student loans begin showing up on credit reports for the first time since the pandemic, millions of borrowers could see a serious hit to their credit scores, economists warn.

The more than 9 million student loan borrowers who are estimated to be past-due could experience "significant drops" in their credit scores, the Fed warns.