Deferments may be granted for cases of unemployment and economic hardship. These deferments are typically granted for 6-12 month periods and may not exceed 3 years in total. Back to Top Forbearance Options During a period of forbearance, borrowers may either suspend payments or reduce their scheduled monthly payment amount on a temporary basis. The Department of Education grants forbearances for a period of up to one year for borrowers who are willing but unable to make their monthly payments. The forbearance is renewable upon the borrower's request and the Department's approval.
Interest continues to accrue on the subsidized and unsubsidized loans.
Interest is capitalized after the forbearance ends. Consolidation allows a student with federal loans held by multiple lenders to create a new loan with one lender and to make one monthly payment for all their federal loans. Consolidation can eliminate monthly payments to multiple federal lenders and allow a borrower to have all their federal loans on the same repayment schedule. The process of consolidation will result in the calculation of a new interest rate that is the fixed, weighted average of the interest rates for all the loans being consolidated. You can take advantage of the repayment options offered without consolidating.