A forbearance temporarily postpones student loan payments or temporarily decreases the amount of student loan payments. Other options that may postpone student loan payments include economic hardship deferments, in-school deferments, military deferments and parental leave deferments.
To qualify for a forbearance, the applicant must prove that a temporary financial hardship exists. Borrowers must supply a reason for requesting a forbearance on the forbearance request. A forbearance may also be given to those borrowers completing a medical or dental internship.
If the student loan company awards a forbearance, the borrower will not be required to make loan payments for one year. Borrowers can apply for an additional year of forbearance if financial hardship continues. However, the maximum forbearance time period cannot be more than three consecutive years.
During a forbearance, the government pays the interest on the subsidized loans. The interest on unsubsidized loans continues to accrue during a forbearance.
Borrowers should continue to make regular student loan payments until given a forbearance.
Obtaining a forbearance allows borrowers to prevent loan delinquency or default. Forbearance applications typically do not require income verification and are awarded based on the borrowers description of economic hardship.