economic hardship deferment

[RedBlue04]

has anyone applied for economic hardship deferment? if so, question...

so all of the calculators online say that i would qualify. but when i'm filling out the actual form and the worksheet at the end, the poverty level marker that they're using (for qualification 6) is lower than what is on all the websites. i wouldn't qualify. anyone else have this problem?

thanks!

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[Pilot Doc]

just apply for forbearance. Every resident qualifies and the benefits are almost as good as deferment.

 

[climbingdocs]

just apply for forbearance. Every resident qualifies and the benefits are almost as good as deferment.

what's a difference?

 

[Pilot Doc]

what's a difference?

Deferment =
1) stop making payments
2) interest does not accrue on the govt subsidized portion of your loans (when I was in school this maxed out at 8K/yr)
3) only available to people with a debt that is very large compared to income. many residents don't qualify

Forbearance
1) stop making payments - same as above
2) interest accrues and capitalizes (i.e. "paying interest on interest")
3) available to any resident regardless of income or debt.

 

[DreamLover]

Deferment =
1) stop making payments
2) interest does not accrue on the govt subsidized portion of your loans (when I was in school this maxed out at 8K/yr)
3) only available to people with a debt that is very large compared to income. many residents don't qualify

Forbearance
1) stop making payments - same as above
2) interest accrues and capitalizes (i.e. "paying interest on interest")
3) available to any resident regardless of income or debt.

I applied and was awarded the economic hardship deferment (although my loans were maxed out by the end of med school i.e. I owe a buttload of money) and I just filled out the form, sent in a copy of my pay stub and that was that.

As far as the portion of my loans which are subsidized...it's a lot more than 8K a year and I even consolidated the majority of my loans at a really decent rate but every penny counts for me...I dream about the day I am out of debt!

Good Luck!

 

[Pilot Doc]

By all means take deferment if you can get it ... but if you can't it's not a big deal.

Bottom line - no one has to pay a single penny toward student loans during residency.

 

[pjl]

You can also put some retirement money away pretax to drop your income to a level that qualifies. Then you double win.

 

[urge]

I financed my loans into a 30 yr fixed rate through Sallie Mae. I paid only the interest for the first 4 yrs(residency). Payment was low. Might be another thing to consider.

 

[fakin' the funk]

During residency, can you make small payments to cover your interest (in order to prevent capitalization of interest) without actually triggering your loan repayment?

Like, can you make $100/month payments w/o having to make the full 30-year, maybe $1000/month loan payments?

 

[amyl]

i think you can pay without triggering repayment. but you should calculate how much the extra interest will cost you later. for me its another 30k. this won't change the eventual payments very much...the extra bucks now probably mean more to you than the extra bucks later will. might be some smarter things to do with your extra $ than pay off the loans, esp if your residency has a matching 401k etc. calculate just how much extra that deferment is going to cost you...doesn't seem like much to me.

 

[urge]

During residency, can you make small payments to cover your interest (in order to prevent capitalization of interest) without actually triggering your loan repayment?

Like, can you make $100/month payments w/o having to make the full 30-year, maybe $1000/month loan payments?

You need a loan that allows that. Max-4 from Sallie Mae was the one I took.

 

[Pilot Doc]

During residency, can you make small payments to cover your interest (in order to prevent capitalization of interest) without actually triggering your loan repayment?

Like, can you make $100/month payments w/o having to make the full 30-year, maybe $1000/month loan payments?

YES.

The way to do this is apply for forbearance. Everyone in residency should be in forbearance. You can make as many or as few payments as you want. If you miss one, mail it in late, etc, there are no consequences.

 

[Breezee]

Is one allowed to defer or enter forberance during fellowship or does it just apply to residency?