"If you live in an area affected by the California wildfires, you may qualify for temporary relief from federal student loan payments," Investopedia reports.

... "Federal student loan servicers are keeping up with FEMA updates and will reach out to borrowers to share disaster relief options, the Department of Education said. In some cases, loan servicers will automatically place borrowers who missed a payment and whose ZIP code was in a disaster area into forbearance, said Megan Walter, senior policy analyst with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators."

"The best practice, I would say, for borrowers who are affected and are in that disaster ZIP code would be to contact your servicers the second you realize you're not going to be able to make that payment and request the 90-day forbearance," Walter said."

"This three-month forbearance can be extended for up to a year, but borrowers should be aware that interest will still accrue, and the months spent in forbearance do not count toward loan forgiveness."

"'If you can pay, generally, my advice would be: continue to pay,' Walter said. 'If you know you can't pay, the forbearance is going to be better than just going delinquent on your loans.'"

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 1/22/2025