What is Student Loan Forbearance and When Should You Use It?
Student Loan Forbearance allows you to temporarily suspend your student loan payments. These programs can help when you’re in financial trouble. For example, if you lose your job, it can become difficult to keep up with your monthly loan payments.
Not making your payments and defaulting on student loans can affect your credit score and potentially have other negative financial repercussions. Learn the pros and cons of forbearance to help you decide if it’s right for you.
What is Student Loan Forbearance?
Student loan deferral is the temporary suspension or reduction of student loan payments. During a deferral period, you do not have to pay anything on the principal amount of your student loan. Interest may continue to accrue on your loans and may be capitalized or added to your balance at the end of the forbearance period.
Forbearance on federal student loans can be general or mandatory. General forbearance is at the discretion of your credit servicer. Reasons for granting a general omission may be:
- Incidental medical expenses
- job change
You can qualify for general forbearance if you have federal direct loans, federal family education loans (FFEL), or Perkins loans.
Enforcement is required try here under certain conditions. You may be granted a deferral of student loan payments if at least one of the following applies to you:
- Serve in an AmeriCorps position for which you have received a national service award
- Serve in a medical or dental residency program
- Are a member of the National Guard activated for duty
- Provide services you would qualify for teacher loan forgiveness
- Qualify for a partial loan repayment under the US Department of Defense Student Loan Repayment Program
- Have a monthly payment that is more than 20% of your total monthly gross income
Who Offers Student Loan Forbearance?
You may be wondering what your options are if you have private student loans. Private service providers and student loan lenders are not required to offer student loan forbearance, but many do offer options to borrowers who cannot pay. Continue reading “What is Student Loan Forbearance and When Should You Use It?”