AmeriCorps Loan Forbearance


HOW TO USE:
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  • Contact your loan(s) holder to see if your loan(s) qualifies for forbearance based upon your AmeriCorps service. While your loan(s) is in forbearance, you are not required to make payments.
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  • Interest may continue to accrue, but if you successfully complete the term of service and the loan(s) is a qualified student loan, the National Service Trust will pay all or a portion of the interest that accrued during the service period.

  • Interest payments are considered taxable income and are reported to the IRS. 

  • After you complete your term of service, you will be responsible for repaying your loan(s) according to the terms of the loan(s).

  • If you do not hear from the loan holder within four weeks of submitting the forbearance request, contact them again.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE:

  • RISE AmeriCorps Members who are currently serving may be eligible to temporarily postpone repaying their qualified student loans while they are serving.

  • Contact your lending institution to determine whether you qualify. AmeriCorps cannot approve forbearance requests; it can only verify that you are serving in an approved national service position.

  • If your loan is in default, it may not be eligible for forbearance. However, if a loan went into default before you began AmeriCorps service, you can try to negotiate an arrangement with the loan holder or collection agency. Yo to bring the loan out of default so forbearance can be granted.

  • The Trust can only make an interest payment after you have successfully completed a term of service and earned an education award. ​
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  • The portion of the accrued interest that the Trust pays is determined by the type and length of your service. If you have been exited with a Compelling Personal Circumstance exit, you may be eligible for partial payments, based upon the percentage of term completed.