Deferment & Forbearance

If you're experiencing a hardship, postponing your student loan payments may help.

If you can't make any payments at all, then a deferment or forbearance might be the right choice to keep your loan from entering default.

Consider This First

  • A deferment or forbearance is temporary.
    These are authorized temporary suspensions of repayment, granted under certain circumstances.
  • Your interest keeps accruing.
    Even if your monthly payments are suspended, you are responsible for repaying accrued interest on all federal and private loans. The only exception to this is for subsidized Stafford and Consolidation loans on deferment.
  • Explore other options first.
    If you can manage a smaller payment during your period of hardship, you might want to consider other options.

Deferment

What it means
  • A student loan deferment allows you to temporarily postpone your monthly payments under certain circumstances, such as:
    • Enrollment in school
    • Economic hardship
    • Unemployment
    • Military deployment
Eligible loans
  • All loans in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP):
    • Stafford Loans
    • Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS)
    • PLUS Loans
    • Consolidation Loans
  • Many private loans, depending on loan type and loan servicer
Paying interest
  • Subsidized Stafford / Subsidized Consolidation loans – The government pays the accrued interest during any approved periods of deferment
  • All other loan types – The borrower is responsible for paying the daily interest accrual
Requesting a deferment
  • Sometimes deferment is automatically applied on your behalf
  • In most cases, to receive deferment you must:
    • Apply
    • Meet the qualifications
    • Make arrangements with your loan servicer

I need help. I want to take the Postpone Payments Eligibility quiz.

Our interactive Eligibility quiz helps you determine if your federal student loans are eligible for a deferment or forbearance and provides the best options for postponing your payments.

Take Eligibility Quiz Now

I already know which form I need.

Forbearance

What it means
  • A student loan forbearance allows you to temporarily postpone your monthly payments under certain circumstances, such as:
    • Unemployment
    • Temporary financial hardship
    • Natural disaster
    • Military deployment
Eligible loans
  • All loans in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP):
    • Stafford Loans
    • Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS)
    • PLUS Loans
    • Consolidation Loans
  • Many private loans, depending on loan type and loan servicer
Paying interest
  • All loan types – The borrower is responsible for paying the daily interest accrual during periods of forbearance
Requesting a forbearance
  • To receive forbearance, you must:
    • Apply
    • Meet the qualifications
    • Make arrangements with your loan servicer

I need help. I want to take the Postpone Payments Eligibility quiz.

Our interactive Eligibility quiz helps you determine if your federal student loans are eligible for a deferment or forbearance and provides the best options for postponing your payments.

Take Eligibility Quiz Now

I already know which form I need.
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