If you are finding it extremely difficult to pay your federal student loans and do not want your credit ruined, you should consider the option of student loan forbearance. With a forbearance, your lender grants you permission to temporarily stop making payments on your loan. Interest will continue to accrue, but you will have a temporary reprieve that could prevent you from defaulting on your loans. Since interest continues to accrue, you have the choice of paying interest only during your forbearance, or you can have the accrued interest added to your total loan amount. Of course if you are able, paying the interest each month will definitely help you with your future payments because the loan balance will not increase. Keep in mind that there is a difference between forbearance and student loan deferment, so it is important to determine which is the best option for you. Refer to the Resources section of this article for an explanation of both deferment and forbearance.
Instructions
1. Federal student loan Forbearance can be granted for several reasons, including, but not limited to, the inability to pay due to financial burden, poor health, unforeseen personal problems, or if your monthly payment is more than 20% of your total income. If you are having difficulty in paying your federal student loans, and feel that a forbearance might be the answer, please continue reading.
2. You can find a list of all of your federal student loans by visiting the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) for students. You can link directly to this site by visiting the Resources section of this article. From that page, you can click on Financial Aid Review to see the federal student loans you have. You will need your social security number, last two digits of your last name, date of birth, and PIN number (This is the same PIN you were issued by the Federal Student Aid site when you first applied for financial aid through FAFSA). Once you enter this information, you will be given a list of all of your federal student loans.
3. You can now visit the Direct Loan Servicing Online site to begin your deferment application. You can link directly to this site in the Resources section of this article.
Under the Access Your Account tab, click on Log In to Your Account. Again, you will need to enter your SS#, last two digits of your last name, date of birth, and PIN number. Click Submit. You will now see your Account Summary.
4. Under Manage Your Account, choose the option Forbearance Request. You will now be advised that you need Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher. Choose Yes if you already have this, or click No to install it now.
5. View the various types of forbearance by clicking on the name of the forbearance. This should list the requirements you must meet in order to apply for the forbearance.
6. Once you have chosen the forbearance that fits your individual situation, you can choose to Download Blank Forms, or you can choose the Interactive Form-Download option. In some cases you can Submit an Online Request, which requires NO paperwork. Make your selected choice. Follow the specific instructions given to you to complete the application process.
7. Always follow-up on your request by returning to the Federal Student Loan Servicing web site, log in to your account, and choose the Your Account tab. This will allow you to see the status of your request for Forbearance.
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