Cost of Deferment Calculator

This cost of deferment calculator analyzes the cost of suspending payments on your student loans for a period of time using a deferment or forbearance.

How can deferment help you?


$
info icon vector The total amount you owe as of today. An estimate is just fine!

%
info icon vector The interest rate you are currently paying, or the average interest rate across the multiple loans you have. Not sure what that is? Try a standard 5% for starters and play what-if games with different rates.

YEARS
info icon vector The number of years you have left to pay off what you borrowed. If you started with a 10 year repayment term 3 years ago, this number would be 7.

MONTHS
info icon vector How long do you plan to pause your payments? Remember, not all lenders allow you to defer, and those that do usually require you meet certain conditions. 3-6 months is typical for private loans.

Deferment means that you temporarily pause payments on your student loans if you are struggling to make payments.

You can put your federal student loans in deferment if you are in-school, unemployed, undergoing an economic hardship (or in the Peace Corps), under active cancer treatment and serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. Options for deferments (forbearances) for private lenders vary by lender.

Each type of deferment has different qualification and application requirements. Contact your lender to see what is available.

How long you can defer student loans depends on many variables – it depends if your loans are federal or private, what type of federal loan it is, when you borrowed, what type of deferment you are applying for, and if private, what your lender is offering. The deferment may have a time limit.

Interest accrues on all student loans in forbearance, but not on subsidized federal student loans in a deferment. A forbearance may be easier to qualify for.

The main advantage of deferment is that it temporarily relieves you from making payments, which could help if you lose your job or are struggling financially. This could make paying other bills easier. Plus, it means you won’t be late on payments or in default, which could hurt your credit. The disadvantages of deferment is that you’re not paying down your student loan debt. Unless you have federal subsidized loans, interest will continue to accrue during your deferment. If the interest isn’t paid as it accrues, it will be added to the loan balance, increasing the size of the debt.

Follow the instructions given to you by your lender. You should continue to make payments until you have been officially approved for a deferment and have a confirmation.

Some private lenders do offer a chance for you to put your loans into a forbearance. Some lenders will use the terms deferment and forbearance as synonyms Contact your lender directly to find out what options they offer and how to apply.

Once you put your student loans in deferment, it will be noted on your credit report. But it does not negatively impact your credit score. Missing payments and defaulting on your student loans will negatively impact your credit much more.

If you have used up your allotted deferment time for federal student loans, you can consider forbearances, Income-Driven Repayment Plans and Extended Repayment Plans. These can reduce your monthly payment amount. For private loans that don’t offer deferment options, ask about temporarily lowering payments.