Can T Afford Student Loan Payments
If you’re a student with student loans, you may be having trouble repaying them. If this is the case, there are options available to help make your payments more affordable. In this post we will cover:
Student Loan Deferment
- If you are enrolled in school at least half time, or if you qualify for an approved internship or fellowship, then you may be able to defer your student loans.
- If you have been unemployed for more than 6 months, then your student loans may be deferred while they are not being repaid.
- If you are on active duty in the military and serving during a war, military operation or national emergency (or if called up to serve), then your student loans may be deferred while they are not being repaid.
- If you’re a Peace Corps volunteer serving overseas at least 111 days of service (in any combination), then your loan payments can be put on hold under certain conditions until the end of that term as well as any additional time needed before returning home and beginning repayment again in full amount owed with no penalties attached.”
Student Loan Forbearance
Student loan forbearance is a way to temporarily stop making payments on your student loans. It’s one of several options if your income falls below the amount needed to make monthly payments on your student loans.
If you’re struggling to make payments, you may be eligible for student loan forbearance. Here’s what you need to know about this option:
- What is Student Loan Forbearance? Student loan forbearance allows borrowers with federal loans to pause or reduce their monthly payments due to extenuating circumstances like unemployment, illness or other hardships that keep them from being able to meet payment deadlines. It’s an option for borrowers who have already applied for deferment but were denied because they don’t qualify under the specific criteria required by their lender (or whose deferment expired).
- When Can You Get Student Loan Forbearance? If you have demonstrated financial hardship or are in a period of unemployment and unable to make full-time income necessary for repayment then it may be possible for your lender(s) not only take action against them directly through its collection department but also through third parties such as credit bureaus
Student Loan Consolidation
A student loan consolidation is a way to combine multiple student loans into one. This can make it easier to manage your loans, decrease the number of payments you receive each month and lower your interest rate. If you have federal loans, consolidation will usually extend the repayment period but keep your monthly payment about the same. If you have private student loans, consolidation may lower both your monthly payment and any credit card debt associated with your private student loans.
Consolidation can also provide options for refinancing at a lower interest rate than was previously available (depending on lender). Consolidating multiple federal student loans into a single Direct Consolidation Loan from the U.S Department of Education could lower monthly payments by extending repayment terms up to 30 years for most borrowers today (it used to be 20 years).
Because of these benefits, many borrowers choose to consolidate their federal loan(s). However, this isn’t always possible–for example if one or more of those loans are in default–or desirable–if they don’t qualify or they want other options such as refinancing through another lender or making additional payments without being penalized for early payoff requests (which is only available when consolidating under certain specific circumstances).
Discharge And Forgiveness
If you can’t afford to repay your student loans, there are a few options. One possibility is to have your debt discharged or forgiven by the government.
- Discharge: A discharge releases you from the obligation to pay back some or all of your debt. It can happen after death, for example, if someone dies in service to our country and leaves behind an eligible family member with dependent children who would be left unable to continue their education without financial assistance from the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program. Some federal student loans may also be eligible for discharge in bankruptcy proceedings.
- Forgiveness: Forgiveness means that some portion of your remaining balance will be written off by the government or lender because of extenuating circumstances such as economic hardship or other conditions outlined in federal regulations and programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
If you are having trouble paying your student loans, there are options available to you.
If you are having trouble paying your student loans, there are options available to you.
- Student loan repayment options: If you have federal loans and don’t qualify for income-driven repayment or consolidation, then the best option is to get them deferred or forbearance. There are two ways to do this—you can apply directly through the Department of Education (DOE) website or apply via a servicer like Navient or Nelnet. If the DOE denies your deferment request, it will be sent back to the servicer so they can process it there and send it back again if necessary.
- Apply for deferment: You can apply for an economic hardship deferment by submitting a written request directly to the DOE with documentation showing why they should approve your application (such as proof of unemployment). You can also submit an online request on their website which will not require any additional documents besides those included in their application form itself (i.e., proof of economic hardship). This only applies if you have Federal Direct Loans; private student loan payments cannot be deferred by default; however, some lenders may offer voluntary deferments on their own accord which may include private education loans as well as federal ones (it depends entirely upon each lender’s policies).
- Apply for forbearance: Forbearance allows borrowers who meet certain criteria specified by law . . . . Most importantly, these individuals must demonstrate “undue hardship” based on specific criteria set forth by Congress.”
To recap, if you are having trouble making your student loan payments, there are a number of options available to you. You can opt for deferment or forbearance, which will suspend your payments but not require any additional payments. Consolidation may be right for you if your loans are with different lenders and have varying interest rates. Forgiveness may be an option if you work in certain sectors or meet certain criteria in order to qualify for this benefit from the government.