Today’s economy has hit Americans very hard. Many are struggling to get by let alone pay student loans. Before you get behind on your student loan payments, there are several options that you may qualify for with student loan deferment programs. Some of those options include payment relief, forbearances and deferments.

There are several types of deferments that are offered by lenders. With a deferment, your payments are postponed for specified time periods. Situations that may qualify you for a deferment is if you reenroll in school become unemployed or are suffering economic hardship. Any interest that accrues on the loan does not have to be paid during this time as long as it is a subsidized FFEL or Direct Stafford Loan or Federal Perkins Loan. If the loans are unsubsidized, you will have to pay the interest during the deferment period.

For active duty or reservists who are called into active duty there is a special deferment. The demobilization period may also qualify you for deferment.

A deferment is offered to any reservist who was enrolled in school and called back to duty during that time. It doesn’t matter if you are a current reservist or retired. The deferment can last up to- months from the end of your active duty or if you go back to school.

Having your loan deferred for up to 3 years because of an economic hardship is a possibility. Federal regulations allow for this type of deferment for a Direct, Perkins or FFEL Loan. To obtain more information contact your lender.

An allowance offered by your lender that lowers your payment amount or postpones them is known as forbearance. For some reason, if you can’t get a deferment, you may be able to get forbearance. Regardless of the type of loan you have, you will be responsible for making the interest payments on your loans. You may be eligible to have the forbearance granted for a total of 3 years.

Just a side note for PLUS Loan borrowers. For the most part, the same requirements apply when requesting forbearances or deferments. Since the loan is unsubsidized, interest will accrue during the forbearance or deferment period. You don’t have to pay the interest during this time but it will compound if you do not.

You can choose to change repayment plans if you feel that another one would work better for you. With the FFEL you are allowed to change your payment plans one time within a 12 month time period. With Direct Loans you can change plans several times as long as the new plans repayment period is longer than the one you are on at the present time.

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