You can defer parent PLUS loans while your child is in school at least half-time and up to six months after.
Updated Jun 13, 2023 8:35 a.m. PDT · 1 min read Written by Ryan Lane Assigning Editor Ryan Lane
Assigning Editor | Small business, student loans
Ryan Lane is an editor on NerdWallet’s small-business team. He joined NerdWallet in 2019 as a student loans writer, serving as an authority on that topic after spending more than a decade at student loan guarantor American Student Assistance. In that role, Ryan co-authored the Student Loan Ranger blog in partnership with U.S. News & World Report, as well as wrote and edited content about education financing and financial literacy for multiple online properties, e-courses and more. Ryan also previously oversaw the production of life science journals as a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan is located in Rochester, New York.
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Lead Assigning Editor | Student loans, repaying college debt, paying for college
Des Toups was a lead assigning editor who supported the student loans and auto loans teams. He had decades of experience in personal finance journalism, exploring everything from car insurance to bankruptcy to couponing to side hustles.
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If you took out a federal parent PLUS loan for your child’s education, you don’t have to start paying it back right away. Parent PLUS loan deferment is available up until six months after your child graduates or drops below half-time enrollment.
Interest will accrue on the loans during a deferment. That interest will be capitalized — or added to your balance — when you start repaying parent PLUS loans , increasing the amount you repay.
Your first payment on a parent PLUS loan will be due once the loan is fully paid out. Federal student loans usually have two disbursements — one for each college semester — so you would likely start paying back PLUS loans after the spring semester.
You can opt to defer parent PLUS loan payments while your child is enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school. The loan deferment also lasts six months after your child finishes school or drops below half-time enrollment, mirroring the grace period for other undergraduate student loans.
But unlike the grace period for undergraduate loans, parent PLUS loan deferment doesn’t happen automatically.
If you want deferment, you must complete an application and submit it to your loan servicer. You may also be able to opt into a parent PLUS loan deferment when applying for the loan, depending on the school’s procedures.
Other deferments for parent PLUS loansParent PLUS loans are eligible for the same student loan deferments as other federal loans. These include postponing payments if you are unemployed or face financial hardship, for example. Parent PLUS loans are also eligible for forbearance . You always pay the interest that accrues on PLUS loans during deferment or forbearance.
Just because you can defer parent PLUS loan payments doesn’t mean you should — especially considering the extra costs.
The average parent PLUS loan is roughly $29,000, according to federal data as of March 2023. At current interest rates, waiting four years to start repayment would add $9,338 in interest to that balance.
When taking out parent loans , aim to minimize how much you pay overall. That could mean paying the interest while your child is in school or refinancing PLUS loans right away. If you can’t pay parent PLUS loans , enrolling in the Income-Contingent Repayment plan should provide a more manageable payment.
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Ryan Lane is an assigning editor for NerdWallet whose work has been featured by The Associated Press, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today. See full bio.
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