MEFA, on the other hand, offers no deferment or
forbearance protections.
While the government offers many perks - such as deferment &
forbearance protections, forgiveness, and income - driven repayment plans - private lenders usually aren't so generous.
However, once federal loans are refinanced with a private lender, you lose many of the protections and repayment plans offered to federal borrowers — such as income - driven repayment plans, forgiveness eligibility, and deferment and
forbearance protections.
If you think you will need income - driven repayment plans, student loan forgiveness, or deferment and
forbearance protections in the future, you should avoid refinancing.
MEFA, on the other hand, offers no deferment or
forbearance protections.
Earnest reserves
its forbearance protection for borrowers who have lost some or all of their income.
Even though the lender was Chase, students benefited from the guarantees of having a federal loan, such as the ability to have deferment or
forbearance protection.
Not exact matches
The U.S. Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau alleged that the company had encouraged struggling borrowers to take on
forbearance agreements rather than income - driven repayment plans, effectively putting its own interests ahead of its customers.
Unlike federal student loans, your private (non-federal) loans don't have a common set of consumer
protections when it comes to deferment and
forbearance.
As part of your parent student loan research, check whether a lender offers deferment,
forbearance, or repayment
protection — and under what circumstances.
The pros and cons of taking out a student loan with a big bank aren't always obvious — especially when it comes to
protections like economic hardship deferment and
forbearance.
You lose access to federal
protections: Private loans aren't eligible for federal
forbearance, deferment, or forgiveness programs.
Protections like deferment and
forbearance vary depending on whether your loans are from the federal government or a private lender.
You can take advantage of deferment,
forbearance, and unemployment
protection if your lender offers it — and then start paying the full amount again when your situation improves.
That's because refinancing federal loans means forfeiting government
protections such as income - driven repayment plans, deferment /
forbearance, and some debt forgiveness programs.
The Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau estimates that 7 million borrowers are in default, and that another 9 million have loan payments deferred or in
forbearance, meaning they aren't making payments because they are in financial distress, unemployed, in the military or have re-enrolled in school.
Consider any borrower
protections your private lender offers, including deferment and
forbearance, as well as repayment options.
SoFi calls this its Unemployment
Protection Program, and most lenders offer similar
forbearance policies.
Some lenders may include federal loans in the consolidation; however, remember that refinancing federal loans into private ones sheds the myriad borrower
protections — repayment and forgiveness options and deferment,
forbearance, and interest benefits — that federal loans carry.
Of course, the drawback of using a private loan consolidation firm is that you will forfeit the
protections you had with your federal loans such as
forbearance and loan forgiveness programs.
In addition to typically carrying higher interest rates, they don't come with the same
protections that federal loans do (like income - based repayment plans, forgiveness options, and deferment /
forbearance options).
These borrower
protections include income - based repayment plans, student loan forgiveness options, and deferment and
forbearance options.
Federal student loans have fixed interest rates and offer an array of consumer
protections and favorable terms, including deferment and
forbearance in times of economic hardship, manageable repayment options such as the income - Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs.
Borrowers using P2P lending to refinance federal student loans lose the
protections available to federal student loan borrowers, including income - driven repayment plans, loan forgiveness, and deferral or
forbearance while the borrower returns to school or faces economic hardship or disability.
When approved for Unemployment
Protection, your loan is placed into
forbearance.
However, its sister company, Navient, was sued in January by the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau and several state attorneys general, over allegations that it pushed students into
forbearance instead of enrolling them into money - saving income - contingent repayment plans.
Many private lenders don't offer borrowers the same
protections as federal loans, like deferment,
forbearance and specialized repayment plans.
These include income - driven repayment options, deferment and
forbearance, and
protections in the event of disability, death, or financial hardship.
Office of Federal Student Aid Repayment Calculator Office of Federal Student Aid Glossary of Terms Understanding Repayment Plans from the Office of Federal Student Aid Understanding Income - Driven Plans from the Office of Federal Student Aid Income - Based Repayment Loan fact sheet from FinAid Partial Financial Hardship information from Equal Justice Works 2014 Poverty Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Federal Government fact sheet on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Understanding Income - Sensitive Plans from of the Office of Federal Student Aid Understanding Deferment and
Forbearance from the Office of Federal Student Aid Article: «A closer look at the trillion» by the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau Photo: geckoam
If you have a federal loan and you refinance with a private provider, you'll be giving up certain
protections like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and deferment and
forbearance.
Before we go into detail about refinancing, keep in mind that it will turn federal student loans into private loans — causing you to lose eligibility for federal student loan benefits and repayment plans like student loan forgiveness,
forbearance and deferment
protections, and income - driven repayment plans.
Loss of eligibility for forgiveness plans If you have federal student loans in default, you'll lose
protections such as federal forgiveness programs,
forbearance, deferment, and access to different repayment plan options.
Because this is a private loan you will lose
protections provided by any federal loans you choose to consolidate, including the availability of income - driven repayment plans,
forbearance, and loan forgiveness.
They offer a variety of
protections for borrowers, such an income - based repayment plans,
forbearance, and loan forgiveness if you work in certain fields.
Some of these exclusive federal loan
protections include: (1) fixed (and typically lower) interest rates, (2) deferment and
forbearance options, (3) eligibility for Income - Based Repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, (4) option to consolidate multiple federal loans into a single Direct Consolidation Loan, which offers many benefits, (5) possibility of loan subsidization during a grace period, which is usually not offered for private loans, (6) etc..
Office of Federal Student Aid Repayment Calculator Office of Federal Student Aid Glossary of Terms Understanding Repayment Plans from the Office of Federal Student Aid Understanding Income - Driven Plans from the Office of Federal Student Aid Income - Based Repayment Loan fact sheet from FinAid Partial Financial Hardship information from Equal Justice Works 2014 Poverty Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Federal Government fact sheet on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Understanding Income - Sensitive Plans from of the Office of Federal Student Aid Understanding Deferment and
Forbearance from the Office of Federal Student Aid Article: «A closer look at the trillion» by the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau Photo: geckoam