Perkins Deferments With No Cancellation Provisions

Student Deferment

  • Enrolled at least half-time
  • Form must be submitted at the beginning of each period of enrollment
  • Enrollment verification provided by the Registrar's office of your school is acceptable
  • Deferment is automatic only for students enrolled at UT-Austin unless your loan is past due
  • Borrowers in medical internship or residency program are NOT eligible except for borrowers in a dentistry program

Student Form

Economic Hardship

A borrower is entitled to an economic hardship deferment for periods of up to one year at a time, not to exceed three years cumulatively, if the borrower provides the school with satisfactory documentation showing one of the following:

  • the borrower has been granted an economic hardship deferment for either a Stafford or PLUS Loan for the same period of time for which the Perkins Loan deferment has been requested;
  • the borrower is receiving federal or state general public assistance, such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
  • the borrower is working full-time1 and is earning a total monthly gross income that does not exceed (1) the monthly earnings of someone earning the minimum wage, or (2) 150% of the poverty line2 for the borrower's family size;
  • the borrower is serving as a volunteer in the Peace Corps. Schools may grant deferments for Peace Corps service for periods longer than one year at a time, but these periods must not collectively exceed three years.
    • 1 A borrower is considered to be working full-time if he or she is expected to be employed for at least three consecutive months for at least 30 hours per week.

      2 The poverty guidelines are published annually by the Department of Health and Human Services. If a borrower is not a resident of a state identified in the poverty guidelines, the poverty guideline to be used for the borrower is the poverty guideline (for the relevant family size) used for the 48 contiguous states.

      3 To qualify for a subsequent period of deferment that begins less than one year after the end of the deferment described in option three, the borrower must submit a copy of his or her federal income tax return if the borrower filed a tax return within the eight months preceding the date the deferment is requested.

Economic Hardship Form

Unemployment

  • Defer for up to 1 year at a time
  • You must reapply each year (up to 3 years)
  • Should be able to show evidence of a job search

    i.e. letters of Interest, letters of rejection, or registration with an employment agency

Unemployment Form

Graduate Fellowship

A borrower may defer repayment if he or she is enrolled and in attendance as a regular student in a course of study that is part of a graduate fellowship program approved by the Department of Education, including graduate or postgraduate fellowship-supported study (such as a Fulbright grant) outside the United States. To receive deferment for enrollment in a approved graduate fellowship program (or has been accepted by the program).

To qualify for a deferment for study in a graduate fellowship program, a borrower shall provide The University of Texas at Austin with:

  • The Student Deferment Request form, once each year during the fellowship period and
  • A statement from an authorized official of the borrower's fellowship program certifying—
    • That the borrower holds at least a baccalaureate degree conferred by an institution of higher education;
    • That the borrower has been accepted or recommended by an institution of higher education for acceptance on a full-time basis into an eligible graduate fellowship program; and
    • The borrower's anticipated completion date in the program.

For purposes of the Student Deferment, an eligible graduate fellowship program is a fellowship program that—

  • Provides sufficient financial support to graduate fellows to allow for full-time study for at least six months;
  • Requires a written statement from each applicant explaining the applicant's objectives before the award of that financial support;
  • Requires a graduate fellow to submit periodic reports, projects, or evidence of the fellow's progress; and
  • In the case of a course of study at a foreign university, accepts the course of study for completion of the fellowship program.

Please note:

  • Enrollment must be full-time
  • Form must be submitted at the beginning of the program and once a year until completed.
  • Enrollment verification provided by the school is acceptable. Program must be one that has been approved by the Department of Education, Washington D.C.
  • Includes graduate or post-graduate fellowship-supported study such as a Fulbright grant outside the United States.

Graduate Fellowship Deferment Request

Rehabilitation Training

A borrower may defer repayment if he or she is enrolled in a course of study that is part of a Department-approved rehabilitation training program for disabled individuals.

To receive this deferment, the borrower must provide the school with certification that:

  • the borrower is receiving, or is scheduled to receive, rehabilitation training from the agency;
  • the agency is licensed, approved, certified, or otherwise recognized by a state agency responsible for programs in vocational rehabilitation, drug abuse treatment, mental health services, or alcohol abuse treatment; or by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
  • the agency provides or will provide the borrower rehabilitation services under a written plan that (l) is individualized to meet the borrower's needs (2) specifies the date that services will end and (3) is structured in a way that requires substantial commitment from the borrower

A substantial commitment from the borrower is a commitment of time and effort that would normally prevent the borrower from holding a full-time job either because of the number of hours that must be devoted to rehabilitation or because of the nature of the rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation Training Deferment Formt

Military Deferments

Military service deferment

A borrower who is serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or performing qualifying National Guard duty may defer repayment (principal and interest) on a Perkins Loan if the duty is in connection with a war, military operation, or national emergency.

The deferment is extended 180 days for qualifying periods of service that include October 1, 2007, or that begin on or after that date. This additional period is available each time a borrower is demobilized at the conclusion of qualifying service. This additional 180-day deferment may not be granted without documentation supporting the borrower's claim of end-of-military-service date. A borrower may not be reimbursed for any payments made by or on behalf of a borrower during a period for which the borrower qualified for a deferment.

13-month post-active duty deferment

Borrowers who are members of National Guard or Armed Forces Reserve, and members of the Armed Forces who are in retired status, are eligible for a 13-month period of deferment on repayment of their Perkins Loans following the completion of their active duty military service if they were enrolled in a postsecondary school at the time of, or within six months prior to, their activation.

A borrower returning from active duty who is in a grace period is not required to waive the grace period to use the 13-month post-active duty student deferment. If the borrower reenrolls in post-secondary school (at least half time) prior to the expiration of the 13-month period, the deferment ends on the date the student reenrolls.

Unlike the military service deferment described above, students receiving the active duty student deferment need not be activated in connection with a war, national emergency, or other military operation.

For purposes of the post-active duty student deferment, "active duty" has the same meaning as in Section lOl(d)(l) of Title 10, United States Code, but does not include active duty for training or attendance at a service school/ academy.

National Guard members are eligible if activated by the state under federal approval or if activated by the state under state statue or policy.

Military Form

Cancer Treatment

Qualified borrowers may receive a deferment on their qualifying loans while they are receiving cancer treatment, and for the six months following the conclusion of their treatment. The deferment has no fixed time limit.

A borrower may qualify for the deferment of their loans which entered repayment on or before September 28, 2018. Loans which were made before September 28, 2018, but which were not in repayment on that date because the borrower was in an in-grace or in-school status are not eligible for the deferment and will not become eligible when they do enter repayment. In addition, a deferment cannot be granted for a period of treatment before September 28, 2018.

Perkins Loan borrowers will receive a six-month post-deferment grace period before payments resume. This grace period is in addition to the six-month period of deferment that the borrower will receive after cancer treatment ceases.

Cancer Treatment Form