Student Loans and Maternity Leave: Options Before and After Baby

There is no automatic pause on federal student loan payments when you go on maternity leave. But you have options — including deferment, forbearance, and recertifying your income-driven repayment plan.

Federal borrowers have three options.

Request an Economic Hardship Deferment

If your income drops during maternity leave, you may qualify for an economic hardship deferment. This pauses your federal student loan payments for up to 12 months at a time, up to 36 months total.

You qualify if your gross income falls below 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your family size and state, or if your federal loan payments exceed 20% of your monthly adjusted gross income. Receiving federal or state public assistance (TANF, SSI, SNAP) also qualifies you.

During deferment, interest does not accrue on subsidized loans. Interest continues to accrue on unsubsidized and PLUS loans — and if you don’t pay it during the deferment, it capitalizes when the deferment ends.

To apply, submit an Economic Hardship Deferment Request form to your loan servicer with documentation of your income (a recent pay stub or your most recent tax return).

Related: Forbearance vs Deferment

Request General Forbearance

If you don’t qualify for deferment, your servicer can grant general forbearance for up to 12 months at a time. Unlike deferment, general forbearance is discretionary — your servicer decides whether to approve it.

Interest accrues on all loan types during forbearance, including subsidized loans.

Contact your servicer to request general forbearance. You can do this by phone — it does not require a written application.

Recertify Your IDR Plan

Recertifying your income-driven repayment plan addresses both the income drop and the change in family size at once. Maternity leave creates two changes:

1. Your income drops. If you’re on unpaid or partially paid leave, your current income is lower than what your last tax return shows.

2. Your family size increases. A new child raises the poverty guideline threshold used in the payment formula.

Both changes lower your discretionary income — and your monthly payment.

You do not have to wait for your annual recertification deadline to update your information. If your income has dropped significantly, you can recertify early and use a pay stub showing your reduced income instead of your tax return.

Related: What “Significant Change in Income” Means for IDR

Submit your updated income and family size through the Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request form at StudentAid.gov or through your loan servicer.

Related: How Student Loan Recertification Works

IDR plans calculate your payment using your AGI, family size, and the federal poverty guidelines. When your family size increases by one, the poverty guideline threshold rises, which shields more of your income from the calculation.

For example, a single borrower with an AGI of $45,000 and a family size of one has a discretionary income of $21,060 under IBR, resulting in a monthly payment of about $175. If that borrower has a baby and recertifies with a family size of two, the poverty guideline threshold increases by $5,680, dropping discretionary income to $12,540 and the monthly payment to about $105. That’s a reduction of roughly $71 per month from adding one dependent.

You can count the child as soon as they are born. You do not have to wait until you file your next tax return — update your family size with your servicer immediately after birth.

Related: How Do Student Loans Calculate Discretionary Income?

A specific parental leave deferment exists under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, but it applies only to borrowers whose FFEL loans were first disbursed before July 1, 1993.

Two types are available under this program:

• Parental leave deferment. Up to 6 months. You must be pregnant, caring for a newborn under 6 months old, or caring for a newly adopted child. You cannot be working full-time or attending school during the deferment, and you must have been enrolled in school at least half-time within 6 months before the deferment.

• Working mother deferment. Up to 12 months. You must be the mother of a preschool-age child, working full-time at or near minimum wage, and have entered the workforce within the last year.

Most current borrowers will not qualify — their loans are too new. If you have FFEL loans from this era, contact your servicer to request the Parental Leave/Working Mother Deferment Request form.

Private lenders do not offer income-driven repayment or federal deferment.

Some lenders offer hardship forbearance on a case-by-case basis, which may pause payments. Approval is not guaranteed, and interest continues to accrue. Contact your lender directly — each sets its own policies.

Related: How to Lower Private Student Loan Payments

When you find out you’re pregnant: Review your current repayment plan. If you’re not on an IDR plan and expect your income to drop during leave, consider enrolling in one now so the family size change takes effect immediately after birth.

Before your leave starts: If your income will decrease, gather documentation. A recent pay stub showing reduced hours or income will allow you to recertify early. If you need to pause payments entirely, contact your servicer about deferment or forbearance before you fall behind.

After the baby is born: Recertify your IDR plan with your updated family size. Submit documentation — typically the child’s birth certificate — to your servicer. Your payment should recalculate within one billing cycle after your servicer processes the change.