Thinking about pausing your student loan payments? What to know about deferment and forbearance.

A 2026 explainer on deferment and forbearance.

Federal student loans come with two tools for pausing payments: deferment and forbearance. If you return to school, lose your job, or if you’re facing unexpected expenses, you may consider requesting deferment or forbearance. It’s important to weigh the potential consequences before pressing pause on your payments.

What’s the difference between deferment and forbearance?

Both pause payments, but deferment comes with an additional benefit for some loans - interest does not accrue on subsidized loans. On unsubsidized loans, interest continues to accrue.

With forbearance, interest will continue to accrue on all loans. For this reason, you should evaluate your eligibility for a deferment first if you have any subsidized loans.

To qualify for deferment, you must meet specific criteria. Some examples include unemployment, economic hardship, being enrolled in school at least half-time, or undergoing cancer treatment.

With forbearance, you may qualify for “mandatory” forbearance if you meet certain criteria, or a more general “discretionary” forbearance, which you can simply request for any reason.

What’s the downside to pausing payments?

1. Interest that remains unpaid at the end of a deferment may capitalize: Any unpaid interest capitalizes at the end of a deferment, which means the interest is added to your principal balance. Since interest accrues on your principal balance, a higher principal balance means you’ll be charged more interest moving forward.
2. Your future payment may increase if you’re on a fixed repayment plan: Your payments may increase after deferment or forbearance to ensure you’re able to pay off your higher balance within your remaining loan term.
3. Your progress towards loan forgiveness is delayed: If you’re working towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), postponing your payments will halt your progress. If your goal is to have your loans forgiven as soon as possible, you may want to avoid deferment and forbearance. If you return to school, your loans may automatically be placed in an in-school deferment, so you’d need to contact your servicer and request to opt out of deferment if you don’t wish to interrupt your progress towards loan forgiveness.

What are the alternatives?

If you’re in need of lower payments, you can explore the income-driven repayment (IDR) plan options. You can check out the loan simulator to compare the plans available to you.

With forbearance, economic hardship deferment and unemployment deferment, it’s only possible to postpone your payments for a maximum of 36 months under each category. An IDR plan is a better fit for borrowers who need lower payments long-term. IDR plans come with the added benefit of loan forgiveness of any remaining balance after 20 or 25 years.

You’ll update your income annually, so an IDR plan can help you stay on track with your payments when your income is low, or facilitate a faster payoff once your income increases.

Good to know:

• While payments on IDR plans are typically based on your most recent tax return, if you recently experienced a reduction in your income, you can provide alternative proof of income that reflects your current income.
• Married couples can consider filing taxes separately if payments are too high based on their joint income, but it’s best to consult with a tax professional to discuss your options.

When is it a good idea to postpone payments?

If you can’t afford your student loan payments on any of the available repayment plans, consider a deferment or forbearance as a last resort to avoid falling behind on your payments until your financial situation has improved.

If you’ve already missed payments and you’re unable to pay the past due balance, you can also request forbearance to quickly bring your loans current.

A federal student loan is reported as delinquent to the credit bureaus after 90 days without payment and will enter a default status at 270 days past due. It’s important to resolve a past due balance as soon as possible to avoid the consequences associated with default.

Forbearance can be applied almost immediately by contacting your loan servicer. This can buy you time to switch to a more affordable repayment plan that will allow you to maintain your payments moving forward.

If you have Tuition.io: our student loan coaches are available to help you choose the best repayment plan and navigate the process. Log in to Tuition.io to schedule a 1:1 with a coach.

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