If you are having trouble making your payments, contact your servicer (the company that sends you your monthly bill) immediately. Student loan companies don't want their borrowers going into default so most are extremely flexible in working with you during times when you have difficulty making payments.

Deferment

You have the right to apply for a deferment on the payments on your federal consolidation loan. A deferment is a temporary suspension of loan payments for certain situations such as reenrollment in school (at least half time), unemployment (up to 3 years only), or economic hardship (up to 3 years only). You have to apply for deferment to your loan servicer (the company that sends you your monthly bill), and you must continue to make payments until you've been notified your deferment has been granted.

During deferment, you will not be responsible for the interest on the subsidized portion of your consolidation loan. You will continue to be responsible for the interest on the unsubsidized portion of your loan; but you can choose to have that interest added to your principal balance instead of making payments during the deferment period.

Forbearance

If you are not able to get a deferment you may be eligible for a forbearance on your consolidation loan payments. Forbearance is a temporary postponement or reduction of the payments on your consolidation loan for a period of time due to financial difficulty.

Unlike deferment, you will be responsible for the interest on both the subsidized portion of your consolidation and the unsubsidized portion. During forbearance the interest you owe will be added to your principal balance.

You may receive forbearance in intervals of up to 12 months at a time for up to 3 years. You have to apply for a forbearance to your loan servicer (the company that sends you your monthly bill), and you must continue to make payments until you've been notified your forbearance has been granted.

• Click here to see how much you can save through Vault's no-obligation loan consolidation service.
• NEWS ALERT: Major changes to Federal Student Loan Program to increase student loan payments

Ask Vault's Expert

Have questions? Please drop Vault's expert, Peter Wilkniss, a line at pwilkniss@vault.com. Peter holds a BA in Economics for the University of Virginia and a JD/MBA from Columbia (with tons of student loans!). He practiced law at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York, and held senior financial management positions on Wall Street, before helping start and run a student loan company.