HAVE A PLAN BEFORE PAYMENTS START If you’re planning to change your loan payments, do it as soon as possible to keep payments manageable, says Scott Buchanan, executive director of Student Loan Servicing Alliance, a nonprofit trade association representing student loan servicers. Even if you’ve yet to begin payments, you can talk to your servicer to start off in an income- driven repayment plan when payments begin in October, Buchanan says. Private student loan borrowers have fewer options to alter or pause payments compared with federal student loan borrowers. You must contact your lender to find out if you qualify for a temporary reduction in the payment amount or to request forbearance. Several private lenders are offering disaster or emergency forbearance for up to 90 days in addition to any existing options. Unlike the current automatic pause on federal loans, any private loan forbearance still accrues interest.
This article How to Handle College Loan Debt as an Unemployed Recent Grad was written by NerdWallet on October 12, 2020 and originally published by The Associated Press.
ANNA HELHOSKI is a staff writer at NerdWallet.
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