Forbearances

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If a borrower is willing but unable to financially make the required payments on a loan, he or she may request that the school grant a forbearance. This allows for a temporary postponement of payments, extension of time allowed for making payments or the acceptance of a lesser payment amount. It is important to note that interest continues to accrue during any period of forbearance.

In order to obtain a forbearance, the borrower must request it in writing and provide documentation that supports the borrower’s claim that he or she is financially unable to make payments. Forbearance is available on all Federal Perkins and NDSL’s (Nation Direct Student Loans) regardless of when they were made.

A forbearance may be granted for up to one year at a time. It may be renewed with additional supporting documentation, but may not exceed a total of three years.

To be eligible for forbearance, you must be employed and your total monthly education loan payments must be a minimum of 20% of your total monthly gross income (defined as gross income received from employment and other sources). The following documentation must be supplied to support the request for forbearance:

Copies of the most recent monthly pay statement showing gross income and
Copies of the most recent monthly statements showing amount owed on Title IV loans.

Forbearance may also be granted for one of the following reasons

Extended illness
Department of Education authorized periods due to local/national emergency or national military mobilization
Service in Americorps
Other extenuating circumstances

Please note that borrowers who have been granted forbearance on their Federal Direct Student Loan or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) do not need to submit detailed documentation for their Federal Perkins/NDSL. The request must still be in writing and should include written confirmation of the approved forbearance.

Click here to download Forbearance form.

Student Loan / Campus Receivables
406B Goodell Building
140 Hicks Way
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003-9272
Tel: (413) 545-2377
Fax: (413) 577-2120

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Last Updated: 02/27/08

FORBEARANCES