Is there any way to temporarily stop making loan payments?
There are two ways to temporarily stop making payments and/or to avoid a default on your Federally Guaranteed Student Loans. The first way is to request the Department of Education to grant you a “deferment” which allows you to stop payments (and stop interest from accruing on subsidized Stafford loans as well). You must meet specific criteria in order to qualify for a deferment. The second way is to request for your lender to grant you a forbearance of payments for a short period of time because of financial hardship or poor health. Interest continues to accrue during forbearance on all loans.
