Don t get discouraged if you're in default on your federal student loan. 
You have multiple options to get out of default. If you failed to make your payments on your federal student loan and now are in default , don t let the consequences of default affect your financial future. Find out how to get out of default. Stopped Collection Activity and Temporary 0% Interest as a Result of the COVID-19 National Emergency To provide relief during the COVID-19 national emergency , the U.S. Department of Education ED has stopped collection activity on defaulted federally owned student loans and/or grant overpayments. In addition , interest is temporarily set at 0% on defaulted federally owned student aid debt. This 0% interest and stopped collections period will last from March 13 , 2020, through Sept. 30 , 2020. You can still make payments if you choose. Have questions? Find out about federal student aid flexibilities due to the COVID-19 national emergency. One way to get out of default is to repay the defaulted loan in full , but that's not a practical option for most borrowers. The two main ways to get out of default are loan rehabilitation and loan consolidation. While loan rehabilitation takes several months to complete , you can quickly apply for loan consolidation. However , loan rehabilitation provides certain benefits that are not available through loan consolidation. Take a look at the chart below to compare the benefits of loan rehabilitation versus the benefits of loan consolidation. Loan Rehabilitation and Consolidation Comparison Chart * NOTE : We previously indicated that loan consolidation would result in removal of the record of default from a borrower s credit history. That cell of the table has now been corrected to indicate that loan consolidation will not result in removal of the record of default from the borrower s credit history. If you rehabilitate a defaulted loan , the record of the default will be removed from your credit history. However , your 

user: I could use help with a loan that is giving me problems

assistant: Do you need help with your defaulted loan?

user: no I need more information on what I can do and such

user: how do I work on paying my defaulted Perkins loan?

assistant: You will need to make a full monthly payment each month, within 20 days of the due date, for nine consecutive months. Your required monthly payment amount is determined by your loan holder. 

user: where do I go for more info on this?

assistant: I can show you where to go for information about your Perkins Loan

user: what about Direct Consolidation loans, can we choose our repayment plan on those?

assistant: Yes, if you make three voluntary, on-time, full monthly payments before consolidating, you can choose from any of the repayment plans available to Direct Consolidation Loan borrowers.

user: can we get more help since COVID-19 is affecting so many people and our finances?

assistant: Yes, the U.S. Department of Education has stopped collection activity on defaulted federally owned student loans and/or grant overpayments. Interest is temporarily set at 0% on defaulted federally owned student aid debt. This 0% interest and stopped collections period will last from March 13, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2020.