SUPPORT FOR FFELP LOAN BORROWERS
Federal Family Education Loan Program (or FFELP) loans were originally made by banks and other financial institutions under a federally guaranteed program. Some FFELP loans were later transferred to the U.S. Department of Education, and those particular loans are now government owned. The relief programs available may differ based on whether the loan is owned by the government or by a financial institution, such as Navient.
Tip for Navient customers: You can easily identify if you have these loan types on the Account Summary page after logging into (or creating) your online account at Navient.com.
If you’re unsure of who owns your loan, go to your Loan Details for each loan and scroll to the bottom to find the Current Owner.
Short-term coronavirus forbearance
COVID-19 continues to affect many people’s lives. For a limited period of time, Navient is offering a short-term coronavirus forbearance to qualified FFELP borrowers who request it. This program brings your eligible loans current and postpones payments for at least one full month. The short-term forbearance will not count against your hardship forbearance time. During this time, you will not be responsible for making payments but interest will continue to accrue. At the end of the short-term forbearance, unpaid interest will not be capitalized (added to your unpaid principal). Your Monthly Payment Amount may increase after the forbearance ends to ensure your loans will be paid off within your repayment term.
Tip for Navient customers: Please be aware that if this accrued interest is not paid and you postpone your payments in the future with a different forbearance or deferment then interest could be capitalized (added to the unpaid principal) increasing your overall loan balance.
Other programs that may assist you
Some of the other options that may help FFELP borrowers include:
- Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) – allows qualified borrowers to base their monthly payment on their income and family size, subject to annual recertification. If you are already enrolled in IDR and your income has recently fallen, you can have your payment recalculated based on your new income.
- Unemployment Deferment – if you become unemployed, you may be eligible to defer all payments for six months, in some cases with interest subsidies.
- Consolidation – if you consolidate your FFELP loans not owned by ED into a Direct Consolidation Loan, the loan will become a Direct Loan and be eligible for 0% interest and postponed payments until at least September 30, 2021. To learn more about the pros and cons of consolidating some or all of your loans, visit StudentAid.gov/consolidation.
- Other deferments, forbearances, and repayment plans based on your income or personal circumstances.