Forbearance

Like a deferment, forbearance allows you to postpone payment on your federal loans. However, unlike a deferment, you are not entitled to forbearance even if you meet conditions that qualify you for deferment. The following situations are reasons Iowa Student Loan may grant you forbearance on your federal student loans.

If you choose to place your loans in forbearance, interest will accrue and will be added to your loan; therefore, forbearing payments for an extended period of time may substantially increase your loan balance. Iowa Student Loan strongly encourages you to make payments that at least cover your accrued interest to avoid increases in your loan balance.

Federal Loan Forbearance Form

This form is used for all federal loan borrowers and applies to the following situations:

• Hardship — This type of forbearance can be granted when a borrower has shown that repayment of his or her student loans(s) would constitute a hardship in the current economic situation. This forbearance may be granted based upon Iowa Student Loan's discretion.



• Internship/Residency — This type of forbearance may be granted when a borrower has used their maximum 24 months of internship/residency deferment. The borrower must return the signed forbearance form, along with documentation verifying their internship/residency position, and the dates they are registered with the program. The forbearance may be granted in yearly increments or through the end of the internship/residency period, depending on which is more recent.



• Alignment of Repayment — This type of forbearance may be granted to borrowers who wish to align the repayment of Federal Stafford Loans and Federal Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS). Since Federal Stafford Loans have a grace period after the student's graduation date, forbearance is offered to a Federal SLS borrower to bring all loans in the borrower's account into repayment at the same time. The borrower must have both Federal Stafford and Federal SLS loans to be eligible for this forbearance. The SLS must have been on a school deferment from the time of its disbursement until the student's graduation date.



• Mandatory — This type of forbearance is granted to:
  1. Borrowers whose Title IV student loan gross monthly payments are equal to or exceeds 20% of their individual gross income. The borrower must return the signed forbearance form, along with documentation verifying the most recent total monthly gross income from employment and all other sources, and documentation verifying monthly payments on all Title IV student loans.
  2. Borrowers who are serving in a national service position. The borrower must return the signed forbearance form, along with documentation from his or her national service supervisor, verifying the program he or she is participating in, and the dates he or she will be involved in the program.
  3. Borrowers who are performing military service that would require the borrowers to be in repayment of the loan under the Student Loan Repayment Programs administered by the Department of Defense. The borrower must return the signed forbearance form, along with documentation verifying the dates he or she is considered to be eligible for this program.



• Mandatory Administrative — This type of forbearance is granted to:
  1. Borrowers due to local or national emergency.
  2. Borrowers who reside in a geographical area that has been designated a disaster area by the president of the United States or Mexico, the prime minister of Canada, or by a governor of a state.
  3. Borrowers involved in a military mobilization. A military mobilization is defined as a situation in which the U.S. Department of Defense orders members of the National Guard or the Reserves to active duty. The borrower must provide documentation showing that the borrower is subject to a military mobilization.
     • For options 1 and 2, the borrower is not required to submit a written request for this forbearance. Please contact Loan Counseling to discuss this option at (800) 243-7552.



• PLUS Loan School Forbearance — Iowa Student Loan will allow the Federal Plus borrower discretionary forbearance to be used while the dependent student is attending school on at least a half-time basis. Please use the comment lines of the form to identify the following information: name of the student, student's Social Security number, name of the school student is attending and the dates of attendance.

Download the Federal Loan Forbearance Form (PDF)