If administrative issues impact your student loan bills, your servicer might put you in an interest-free administrative forbearance until the problem gets fixed.
Eliza Haverstock
Lead Writer | Student loan repayment, paying for college
Eliza Haverstock is NerdWallet's higher education writer, where she covers all aspects of college affordability and student loans. Previously, she reported on billionaires and investing for Forbes in New York, and she also covered private markets for PitchBook in Seattle. Eliza got started at her college newspaper at the University of Virginia and interned for Bloomberg, where she spent a summer writing a feature story about plastic straws. She is based in Washington, D.C.
Assistant Assigning Editor Cecilia Clark
Assistant Assigning Editor | Education financing products, Veteran's benefits, Student and graduate finances
Cecilia Clark is an editor on the loans team. She specializes in student loans and manages product reviews and roundups. Previously, she worked as a freelance writer and developed communications strategies for cybersecurity firms. Cecilia has also worked in post-secondary education, elevator operations management and sales and military nuclear command control, maintenance management and public affairs.
Fact CheckedMany, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
New income-driven repayment applications won't be processed. The SAVE IDR plan is currently blocked. Stay up to date on the latest.
Lawsuits block SAVE indefinitely: What SAVE borrowers need to know SAVE payments paused, with no interest: Administrative forbearance 101 Confused about repayment options? Get student loan help Key context: How the new SAVE repayment plan works Still want to sign up for IDR? Submit a paper IDR application, expect delaysYour federal student loans may be placed in an “administrative forbearance” if an administrative or technical issue is impacting your ability to pay your bill.
You’ll be off the hook for student loan payments and interest accrual until the problem is resolved. 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. The three-year pandemic payment pause was an administrative forbearance for most federal student loan borrowers.
An administrative forbearance differs from a general student loan forbearance in a few key ways:
Usually automatic, if you qualify due to an administrative issue.
You must request it from your servicer, due to financial hardships.
You can typically skip payments.
You can skip payments, or temporarily make smaller payments.
The forbearance typically lasts until the administrative issue is fixed.
The forbearance lasts until you end the forbearance, for up to 12 months at a time and up to three years total.
Interest does not typically accrue.
Interest does accrue, and you’ll have to pay it off through normal monthly payments when the forbearance ends.
Generally, you will get credit towards PSLF and income-driven repayment forgiveness for each month spent in forbearance.
You will not earn any credit toward forgiveness programs for months spent in forbearance.
You won’t face student loan default or delinquency during an administrative forbearance. However, if you want to make payments during an administrative forbearance, you still can — and any amount of money you put towards your student debt will go further than usual since interest won’t be building up.
If you are placed in an administrative forbearance, you’ll receive an email or letter from your servicer about it. It will be automatically applied to your account until the situation is resolved.
Here are a few common reasons borrowers may see their student loans placed in an administrative forbearance.
The Education Department is putting all SAVE borrowers into an administrative forbearance indefinitely, after the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the income-driven student loan repayment plan following SAVE lawsuits filed by groups of Republican-led states. Payments won't be due and their interest rate will be 0% until the legal situation is resolved, which could take months.
Unlike typical administrative forbearances, borrowers will not earn credit toward income-driven repayment (IDR) loan forgiveness or Public Service Loan Forgiveness during this SAVE payment pause. The Education Department has shared a couple of official workarounds for borrowers eager to reach forgiveness: borrowers could switch to a different IDR plan, though online applications are currently closed until the lawsuits are resolved and switching will require submitting a PDF application , with expected delays. Borrowers nearing PSLF forgiveness eligibility could "buy back" credit for time spent in the administrative forbearance.
Call your servicer if you're a SAVE borrower who didn't get an email, or if you have any questions about the forbearance.
In late October, the Education Department announced at least 2.5 million borrowers with the servicer MOHELA did not receive October billing statements in a timely manner; some received them within only seven days of their payment due date. (The Education Department requires servicers to send billing statements to borrowers at least 21 days before their due date.) Others received bills with incorrect payment amounts.
As a result, the Education Department instructed MOHELA to put affected borrowers into an administrative forbearance until the issue was resolved. The Department also said it would withhold $7.2 million in pay from MOHELA.
Some MOHELA borrowers received an email from the servicer on Oct. 27, 2023 with the subject line "Administrative Forbearance." If you’re not sure whether you’re eligible for the forbearance, or if it’s still happening, call MOHELA’s customer service department.
MOHELA wasn’t the only recent offender. In January, the Education Department said the servicers Aidvantage , EdFinancial and Nelnet all failed to send timely October billing statements to a combined total of 758,000 borrowers.
Affected borrowers were placed into administrative forbearance until the issues were resolved. The Department withheld payment of $2 million from Aidvantage, $161,000 from EdFinancial and $13,000 from Nelnet.
Not sure if you qualified for the servicer-related administrative forbearance, or if it’s still active for you? Call your servicer.
If you’re part of the Sweet v. Cardona class action lawsuit for defrauded student loan borrowers, the Department of Education will put you in administrative forbearance and reimburse you for any interest that accrues until you receive your settlement, or until a final decision denying your request for settlement relief.
This administrative forbearance should be automatic if you have direct loans. If you have commercially held FFELP loans , you may have to tell your servicer that you’re eligible for administrative forbearance. And, the forbearance does not apply to any student loans that aren’t covered by your borrower defense application.
If you are a “post-class” applicant for Sweet v. Cardona, or if you applied for borrower defense after November 16, 2022, you’re only eligible to sign up for general forbearance, not administrative forbearance.
PSLF erases your remaining federal student debt after 10 years of working in a qualifying public service job — like government work, nursing or teaching — and making your monthly loan payments. That means you must make 120 qualifying student loan payments to reach the PSLF finish line.
You can request an administrative forbearance if you reach your 120 qualifying payments but are still waiting for your employment eligibility to be reviewed. To do this, indicate on your PSLF form that you would like an administrative forbearance. Contact MOHELA, the servicer that manages PSLF loans, with any questions.
About the authorYou’re following Eliza Haverstock
Visit your My NerdWallet Settings page to see all the writers you're following.
Eliza Haverstock is a lead writer on NerdWallet's student loan team covering loan repayment and alternatives to traditional four-year degrees. See full bio.
On a similar note.
Download the app
Disclaimer: NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific product's site. All financial products, shopping products and services are presented without warranty. When evaluating offers, please review the financial institution's Terms and Conditions. Pre-qualified offers are not binding. If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion® directly.
NerdUp by NerdWallet credit card: NerdWallet is not a bank. Bank services provided by Evolve Bank & Trust, member FDIC. The NerdUp by NerdWallet Credit Card is issued by Evolve Bank & Trust pursuant to a license from MasterCard International Inc.
Impact on your credit may vary, as credit scores are independently determined by credit bureaus based on a number of factors including the financial decisions you make with other financial services organizations.
NerdWallet Compare, Inc. NMLS ID# 1617539
California: California Finance Lender loans arranged pursuant to Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Finance Lenders License #60DBO-74812
Insurance Services offered through NerdWallet Insurance Services, Inc. (CA resident license no.OK92033) Insurance Licenses
NerdWallet™ | 55 Hawthorne St. - 10th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105
