What Is Student Loan Forbearance, and When Should You Use It?

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Student loan forbearance allows you to pause your student loan payments temporarily. These programs can offer relief when you're struggling financially. Losing your job, for example, could make it difficult to keep up with your monthly loan payments.

Note

On Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, the Biden administration extended the pause on payments and interest on federal student loans for the eighth time. Borrowers with federal student loans won’t have to make payments, and loans won’t resume accumulating interest, until 60 days after court cases challenging Biden’s student loan forgiveness program are resolved or the Department of Education is allowed to move forward with the program. If the cases aren’t resolved by June 30, 2023, payments will resume two months after that.

Not making your payments and defaulting on student loans could wreak havoc on your credit score and potentially trigger other negative financial impacts. Learn the pros and cons of forbearance to decide whether it is right for you.

Key Takeaways

Forbearance offers a temporary break from student loan payments, though interest will accrue during this time.
General forbearance is available on a discretionary basis, while mandatory forbearance is issued for borrowers who meet certain qualifying conditions.
The U.S. Department of Education grants forbearance for federal loans, but private loans may not offer the same relief.

What Is Student Loan Forbearance?

Student loan forbearance is the temporary suspension or reduction of student loan payments. During a forbearance period, you're not required to pay anything toward the principal on your student loans. Interest can continue to accrue on your loans and be capitalized or added to your balance at the end of the forbearance period.

Forbearance for federal student loans can be general or mandatory. General forbearance is up to the discretion of your loan servicer. Reasons why general forbearance may be granted can include:

Financial hardship
Incurring medical expenses
Change of employment

You can use general forbearance if you have federal direct loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), or Perkins loans.

Note

On Aug. 24, 2022, President Joe Biden announced via Twitter the cancellation of $10,000 of federal student loan debt for eligible borrowers, and $20,000 for federal Pell Grant recipients.

Mandatory forbearance is required under certain conditions. You can be approved for mandatory forbearance of student loan payments if at least one of the following conditions applies to you:

Serve in an AmeriCorps position for which you received a national service award
Serve in a medical or dental residency program
Are a National Guard member who's been activated for duty
Perform services that would make you eligible for teacher loan forgiveness
Qualify for partial loan repayment under the U.S. Department of Defense Student Loan Repayment program
Have a monthly payment that is more than 20% of your total monthly gross income

Both general forbearance and mandatory forbearance periods can be granted for federal loans for up to 12 months at a time.

Note

If you're already in default on federal student loans, meaning that you are 270 or more days behind on payments, you are not eligible for forbearance. You'll need to consolidate or rehabilitate your loans to reinstate forbearance eligibility.

Who Offers Student Loan Forbearance

The U.S. Department of Education offers student loan forbearance for eligible federal loans.

You may be wondering what your options are if you have private student loans. Private student loan servicers and lenders are not required to offer student loan forbearance, but many of them do provide options to borrowers who can't pay. According to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of research at SavingforCollege.com, some private lenders offer a partial forbearance, where the borrower makes interest-only payments during the forbearance period.

"This provides financial relief while preventing the loan balance from growing larger," Kantrowitz said. Among lenders that offer some form of student loan forbearance, the terms are set by each separately and don't necessarily follow the same guidelines for approval and interest accrual as federal loans.

Below, you’ll find highlights of student loan forbearance policies from some of the top loan servicers. The U.S. Department of Education sets all terms for federal loans.

Servicer/Lender	Forbearance Available	Federal Loan Forbearance Terms	Private Loan Forbearance Terms
American Education Services (AES)	Yes, for eligible federal student loans and private student loans serviced by AES	General and mandatory forbearance are offered for up to 12 months at a time for federal loans	Varies by lender
Great Lakes	Yes, for eligible federal student loans	General and mandatory forbearance are offered for up to 12 months at a time for federal loans	Not applicable
Navient	Yes, for eligible federal student loans and private student loans	General and mandatory forbearance offered for up to 12 months for federal loans	Terms for private loans are determined case by case. Up to three months of forbearance are available for eligible private loan borrowers affected by COVID-19.
Nelnet	Yes, for eligible federal student loans	General and mandatory forbearance are offered for up to 12 months at a time for federal loans	Not applicable
Sallie Mae	Yes, for eligible private loans	Not applicable	Forbearance for private loans from Sallie Mae is available in three-month increments, up to a total of 12 months. Forbearance options are also available for borrowers affected by COVID-19.
SoFi	Yes, for eligible private loans	Not applicable	Forbearance for private loans from SoFi is available in three-month increments, up to a total of 12 months, if you become unemployed. Up to 60 days of disaster forbearance, with the option to extend, is also available for borrowers affected by COVID-19.

Forbearance vs. Deferment

Deferment is another option for pausing student loan payments temporarily. You can request a deferment for eligible federal students, including direct loans, FFEL loans, and Perkins loans. Deferments can last up to 36 months.

It's up to private student loan lenders to determine whether to offer this option. Generally, deferment periods for federal loans can be offered for these reasons:

Enrollment in school
Financial hardship
Unemployment
Military deployment
Cancer treatment
Rehabilitation enrollment
Graduate fellowship

Note

The biggest difference between deferment and forbearance is how the interest on loans is handled.

"During a deferment, the federal government pays the interest on subsidized federal student loans," Kantrowitz said. "The interest on unsubsidized loans remains the responsibility of the borrower and will be capitalized if unpaid."

With forbearance, you're responsible for paying all of the capitalized loan interest.

Pros and Cons of Student Loan Forbearance

Putting your payments on hold using student loan forbearance has both advantages and disadvantages.

Pros

Temporary relief from monthly payments when stretched financially
Minimizes risk of late or missed payments being reported to credit bureaus
Gives you time to consider other options, like loan consolidation, refinancing, or income-driven repayment plans

Cons

Capitalized interest could leave you repaying a larger loan balance once forbearance ends
Not a permanent solution for saving money on student loans
May not be an option for some private student loans

"The main problem with a forbearance is that interest continues to accrue and will be added to the loan balance if it is not paid as it accrues," Kantrowitz said. "This digs the borrower into a deeper hole and leads to the charging of interest on interest."

For that reason, forbearance may only be something to consider after you've exhausted other options for managing student debt. According to Kantrowitz, if you're looking for a long-term solution, you may be better off with something like an income-driven repayment plan instead.

How to Get Student Loan Forbearance

If you're interested in applying for student loan forbearance, you'll need to get in touch with your lender or loan servicer.

Your lender may ask you to complete an application for forbearance and provide supporting documentation proving your reason for the request. For example, if you're requesting forbearance due to financial hardship because you've been laid off from work, you may need a letter from your former employer showing your separation date.

Note

You still need to make regular payments on your loans until your forbearance period begins. Otherwise, you could end up with a late payment being reported to the credit bureaus.

The Bottom Line

If you're struggling to keep up with your student loan payments, the best thing you can do is to get in touch with your lender or loan servicer. Explaining the details of your financial situation can help you avoid late or missed payments and subsequent credit score damage while exploring options to make your loans easier to manage and potentially more affordable over the long term.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What's the difference between forbearance and deferment?

Both provide temporary pauses in payment, but forbearance is generally shorter and your loans will continue to accrue interest, whereas deferment is for longer-term situations, and interest will not accrue on subsidized loans.

Will forbearance hurt my credit score?

Quite the opposite. If your loans are in forbearance or deferment, you are still within the boundaries of your loan contract. However if you fail to make payments on your student loans or enter default without attempting to remedy the situation, lenders will certainly report this to the credit bureaus.

What if I can't afford my loan payments but I don't qualify for forbearance?

If you're struggling to make payments, reach out to your lender to ask about your options or to set up a different repayment plan. The availability of repayment options will depend on your lender, but federal student loans have many income-driven plans that can help lower monthly payments. If you have a private loan, you may want to look into refinancing.

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Sources

The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Department of Education. “Biden-Harris Administration Continues Fight for Student Debt Relief for Millions of Borrowers, Extends Student Loan Repayment Pause."
Federal Student Aid. "Student Loan Forbearance Allows You To Temporarily Stop Making Payments."
Twitter. “@POTUS, Aug. 24, 2022 at 11:32 a.m.”
Federal Student Aid. "Student Loan Delinquency and Default."
Federal Student Aid. "Don't Get Discouraged If You're in Default on Your Federal Student Loan."
Federal Student Aid. "Student Loan Deferment Allows You To Temporarily Stop Making Payments."
Federal Student Aid. "Understand How Interest Is Calculated and What Fees Are Associated With Your Federal Student Loan."