Developers of the federal education loan programs took this into consideration, providing borrowers with some tools to help manage their loan debt when these circumstances came up. The two tools are called deferments and forbearance . A deferment is a period of time during repayment in which the borrower, upon meeting certain conditions, is not required to make payments of loan principal.
Some deferments are available for loans disbursed during only a certain period of time.
The qualifications for each type of deferment are on the back of each deferment form. To learn about them, you may access those forms electronically . Your lender, financial aid office, or Student Assistance Foundation of Montana can also provide deferment descriptions and details. If you have a subsidized Stafford loan or a Perkins loan, and have obtained a deferment, the government will pay the interest which accrues on your loan during the deferment period. If you have an unsubsidized Stafford loan, you must pay the interest that accrues during the deferment period.