 TITLE: Loan Forbearance: How to Know if It’s Right For You CONTENT: What Does Student Loan Forbearance Mean?\n----------------------------------------\nIf you have federal student loans, such as direct loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) and Perkins loans that are in good standing, you may qualify for a forbearance. If you do, your payments may be lowered or suspended for a specified period of time. Interest, however, continues to accrue.\nThere are two broad types of loan forbearance:\n*   **General**: Qualifying reasons for acceptance include financial difficulties, overwhelming medical bills, unemployment and changes in income. As long as you meet the criteria, you may have up to 12 months to pay less than the amount you normally would or even nothing at all. If your circumstances don't improve after that time you can request another forbearance, but you can't delay payments forever. Forbearances on Perkins loans are restricted to three cumulative years, and servicers for direct loans and FFEL may also impose limits.\n*   **Mandatory**: There are circumstances when the loan servicer must accept your forbearance request. That happens when:\n    *   Your student loan payments exceed 20% of your monthly gross income.\n    *   You are enrolled in a medical or dental internship or residency program.\n    *   You are serving in AmeriCorps or similar volunteer-based program.\n    *   You are in a teaching position that qualifies you for student loan forgiveness.\n    *   You qualify for the Department of Defense's loan repayment program or are in the National Guard. END