As Rates Fall, Should You Refinance Your Student Loans?

As interest rates start to soften, you may hear more buzz about student loan refinancing as a way to lower your bills.

“Essentially, what it means is you are taking the debt that you owe and you are giving it to another company. They’re going to pay off the debt that you have with the company you currently work with, and then you’re going to pay this new company,” explains Kristen Ahlenius, director of education and advice at Your Money Line, a workplace financial wellness company.

For private loan borrowers who can qualify for a better interest rate, refinancing can shrink your student loan payments with little or no downside. But student loan refinancing comes with a steep opportunity cost if you have federal student loans — even if you can get a lower rate. You’ll transfer your debt from the Education Department to a private lender, and you’ll permanently forfeit federal borrower protections.

If you’re considering student loan refinancing, here’s what to know based on your loan type — plus alternate ways to lower your payments and get student debt relief.

A borrower with only private student loans is a good refi candidate, as long as they meet credit-worthiness guidelines, says Stanley Tate, a lawyer focused on student loans. Typically, you must have a stable source of income and a credit score at least in the high 600s to qualify for the lowest advertised rates.

Consider refinancing now if you can save at least half a percentage point on your current interest rate, Tate says. Keep an eye on rates even after you refinance — you can refinance multiple times if rates keep falling.

“You should be aggressive in monitoring your rates until you get to a really good rate,” Tate says. “We may not see 2% or 3% anytime soon, but 7.5% versus 8% is way better. It seems small, but over a 20-year loan, that adds up.”

Before deciding to refinance, research lenders and loan terms. A student loan refinancing calculator can help you compare options. Pay attention to all aspects of the loans you’re considering — not just the interest rate.

“Rate is what most people think of, but a lot of times, people don’t think, ‘What happens if I lose my job? Do I need a co-signer? What are the terms of this loan? When can it be in default? What are the collection terms? What are cases where the interest rate may go up or down in the future for this loan?’” says Jantz Hoffman, executive director of the Certified Student Loan Advisors Board of Standards, a nonprofit that trains financial planners to help their clients make student loan decisions. “And because they’re not uniform, those contracts and the language in those contracts matter.”

And if you’re having a positive experience with your current private student loan lender — no issues with autopay, the online portal or customer service — refinancing with a new lender might not be worth it.

“Just consider that sometimes that’s not always the experience,” Ahlenius says. “Unless there’s a significant cost savings, remember that that experience is also worth something.”

Refinancing is risky if you have federal student loans.

When you refinance federal student loans, the lender you choose pays off your remaining federal debt and issues a new private student loan. It’s a permanent move: You can never turn your private refinance loan back into a federal loan.

“That decision to give up federal loans for private loans is one that is oftentimes regretted by the borrower,” Hoffman says. “Once that decision is made, there is no ‘Whoops, I wish I would have stayed. I could have gotten Public Service Loan Forgiveness. I lost my job and need forbearance.’”

That’s true even if you can get a lower rate through refinance: “Even if a private refi is long-term cheaper for [borrowers], that opportunity cost of losing potential federal protections usually keeps people from moving to the private space,” Ahlenius says.

You also lose access to any future relief programs. For example, borrowers who refinanced their federal student loans before the pandemic did not benefit from the three-year interest-free payment pause that began in March 2020.

Certain borrowers with federal parent PLUS loans may also be refi candidates, since these loans have higher interest rates than those doled out directly to students, Tate says.

“If you’re someone who is several years away from retirement, you’re a high earner and you have a fairly low loan balance in relation to your income, then refinancing can make sense, because you may not reach the [forgiveness] finish line before you would pay off the loan under the income-driven terms,” Tate says.