Originally appearing in the Los Angeles Times on June 30, 2023, Jon Healey discusses options for borrowers that can’t afford monthly payments with NCLC’s Abby Shafroth.
The very last thing you want to do, Shafroth says, is default. So if you’re still in a bind after changing your repayment plan, she said, you have two other, last-ditch options that you can seek from your servicer: deferment and forbearance.
Deferment is generally better than forbearance, particularly if you have any subsidized loans [which most borrowers from low-income families do], because interest isn’t charged on subsidized loans during deferments.”
Abby Shafroth, co-director of advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center
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