Apparently the servicers are having an incredibly difficult time processing the millions of loans they received and because of that, they are placing people on 'administrative forbearance' until they get their stuff together. This is especially true for people who were on REPAYE and are now being switched to SAVE.
In July 2024, AFT sued MOHELA for a wide range of unlawful practices, including illegally executing a “call deflection” scheme to deny service to borrowers who need help.
This typically happens if your federal student loan servicer makes an error, like sending incorrect or late billing statements. There are a few other situations, like waiting for a borrower defense or Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) application to process, that can lead to administrative forbearance.
You are seeing a 2025 date because your payments due are $0. That date of 4/18/25 is exactly a year from when your current enrollment in the save plan (12 months of $0) will start. So you should actually enter repayment on 4/18/24.
Collections (offset and garnishment) on most defaulted loans will stay paused through Sept. 30, 2024, due to the Fresh Start program.
Each time you satisfy a bill due, we will automatically advance your next payment due date and your billing statement will indicate a payment is not required for that bill.
Starting in July 2024, payments for borrowers with only undergraduate student loans will be cut in half. Those monthly payment amounts are currently calculated to be 10% of your discretionary income, but in July 2024 that number will drop to only 5% of your discretionary income.
You were either enrolled in the SAVE Plan or about to have your payments lowered under it. A federal court recently blocked the implementation of the SAVE Plan. To comply with the court order and prevent incorrect billing, the Education Department directed MOHELA to place affected borrowers into forbearance.
If your student loan dropped to zero, it could be because your loan was transferred to a new servicer, or you qualified for student loan forgiveness.
If you work in certain public service jobs and make 120 payments on your Direct Loan(s), you may be eligible to have your loans forgiven. If you are a teacher in a low-income school or educational service agency, you may be eligible for Teacher Loan Forgiveness.
In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Education disclosed that MOHELA failed to send monthly student loan bills to 2.5 million borrowers, resulting in 800,000 borrowers missing a monthly payment.
A fixed rate will not change for the life of the loan. If your loan was disbursed before July 1, 2024, you likely have a different interest rate.
The Supreme Court ruled we could not implement pandemic-related student loan debt relief, so we can't use your application from 2022. The new proposed regulations are different, and we're currently working to finalize their terms, including who may receive loan forgiveness.
If your federal student loans were placed in forbearance or stopped collections status after you submitted a borrower defense application, you need to contact your loan servicer to remove any or all of them from forbearance or stopped collections.
Update as of June 2023: Federal student loan payments will resume October 2023—with interest starting back September 1, 2023.
You don't get reported when you're in forbearance. During the on-ramp period (through Sept. 30, 2024), we automatically put your loan in a forbearance for the payments you missed. Here's what this means: Your account was no longer considered delinquent and was made current.
Many borrowers who have MOHELA as a student loan servicer have gotten messages about being on administrative forbearance. If you're one of these borrowers, it's likely due to the legal battles over the SAVE program. Some borrowers report that their forbearance will last until 2040.
The department first implemented the forbearance in August 2024 due to ongoing litigation between the department and seven states challenging the debt cancellation effort's legality. The plan is under an injunction preventing the department and servicers from forgiving loans.
Any borrower with ED-held loans that have accumulated time in repayment of at least 20 or 25 years will see automatic forgiveness, even if the loans are not currently on an IDR plan. Borrowers with FFELP loans held by commercial lenders or Perkins loans not held by ED can benefit if they consolidate into Direct Loans.
Early Forgiveness and Other Benefits in 2024. Payments on undergraduate loans will be cut in half (reduced from 10% to 5% of income above 225% of the poverty line).
You have been placed into a forbearance because your servicer is not currently able to bill you at the amount required by a recent court order. Borrowers will be in this forbearance until servicers are able to send bills to borrowers at the appropriate monthly payment amount.
Forbearance is a temporary postponement of payment and should be requested as a last resort. Interest on both subsidized and unsubsidized loans remains the responsibility of the borrower. During a period when you are serving in a medical or dental internship or residency program, and you meet specific requirements.
If you work in certain public service jobs and have made 120 payments on your Direct Loans, you may be eligible to have your loans forgiven. If some or all of your payments were not made on a qualifying repayment plan for PSLF, you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under a temporary opportunity.
Why did my college send me a check? A refund check is money that is directly deposited to you by your college. It is the excess money left over from your financial aid award after your tuition and additional fees have been paid. Your college may send you a check or the money may be deposited into your checking account.