Forbearance is a temporary postponement of payments, an extension of time allowed for making payments, or an allowed time for making smaller monthly payments.
Forbearance benefits are limited to a maximum of 36 months over the life of the loan. The borrower may qualify for forbearance if his/her total monthly payments of all Title IV loans exceeds 20% of his/her monthly gross income, due to poor health, or other acceptable reasons such as a change in employment.
Interest continues to accrue during the forbearance period. Forbearance will only be granted in increments of up to 12 months per application.