The CARES Act relief is available only for loans owned by the Department of Education. Even though your FFELP loans do not qualify, OSLA is ready to assist you with options to provide relief that fits your unique situation.

National Disaster Forbearance: Allows you to postpone payments for up to 90 days and can be extended in 30 day increments by request. If you still need assistance after the initial 90-day period, you may request an extension. Although you may be eligible for the special disaster forbearance, there may be options that could be better for you over the term of your loan.

Income-Driven Repayment: 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. To learn more about Income-Driven Repayment, visit StudentAid.gov/IDR

USDE payment count adjustment information is at https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-account-adjustment. This includes Direct Consolidation Loans that repaid a privately held Perkins or FFEL Program loan and that are disbursed before the adjustment occurs.

Please note that submitting a consolidation application alone does not guarantee any benefits under the payment count adjustment. In general, it takes at least 60 days to process a Direct Consolidation Loan application and to disburse the new loan. This means that if you want to consolidate your loan(s) in order to get the benefit of the adjustment, you should submit a loan consolidation application by April 30, 2024.

Economic Hardship Deferment: You can qualify for this 12-month postponement of your payments if you are either receiving any form of Government or State Assistance (WIC, Food stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income [SSI], Disability) or if you are working full-time and meet the income requirements for your family size.

Unemployment Deferment: If you become unemployed, you may be eligible to defer all payments for six months, in some cases with interest subsidies.

Temporary Hardship Forbearance: A short-term option that allows you to either postpone your payments or make interest only payments. Any unpaid interest will be capitalized and added to your principal balance at the end of the forbearance period.

OSLA is happy to help assist you by discussing options that are best for you. Please call us at (800) 456-6752 or email at custserv@osla.org