Skip student loan forbearance, do this instead

Forbearance is a way to stop making student loan payments temporarily. It is not a longterm affordability strategy, or a way to put off repayment indefinitely.

And that means very few people should use it — probably far fewer than are doing so right now.

In the second quarter of this year, 2.8 million federal student loan borrowers had loans in forbearance, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Almost 70 percent of borrowers who started repaying loans in 2013 used forbearance at some point in the next three years, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office; a fifth had loans in forbearance for 18 months or longer.

Many students didn’t truly grasp what they signed up for when they scrambled to afford an education they were told they needed to succeed. Forbearance is the quick fix they turn to when the bill overwhelms them.

But if forbearance isn’t a good idea, what are borrowers in trouble supposed to do? Follow these guidelines:

• Use income-driven repayment to make your loan payments more affordable over the long term.

• Choose forbearance only for short, one-off financial crises, like when you have a big auto repair or medical bill to pay.

Here’s why.

What forbearance is

Forbearance allows you to pause payments, generally for up to 12 months at a time for federal loans.

There are different types, but discretionary forbearance is the one that can creep up on you. It’s available to anyone with financial difficulties, and there’s no limit to how long you can get it for. Interest will keep adding up, meaning at the end of the forbearance period, you’ll owe more than you did before.

For instance, after putting $30,000 in loans on hold for 12 months at 6 percent interest,

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