Hi all,

I have a Perkins Loan and can’t afford the monthly payment, but Perkins Loans don’t qualify for income-based-repayment. I’m considering consolidating my Perkins Loan with other student loans that I have in order to qualify for income-based-repayment, but I would then no longer qualify for the various loan forgiveness programs offered for Perkin Loans. I’m a social worker and therefore may qualify for Perkins loan forgiveness programs in the future. However, if I were to consolidate my loans and qualify for income-based-repayment, it might allow me to have my loans forgiven after 25 years of low payments. I don’t plan to have much income for the foreseeable future, so I may be able to stave off paying a large portion of loans so that it will be forgiven after 25 years.

I’m hoping you can help me with the following 2 questions:
1) If I use all of the deferments and forbearances allowed on my Perkins Loan and then afterwards consolidate my Perkins Loan with my other loans, will that then allow me to take more deferments and forbearances on my newly consolidated loan?
2) Can you suggest the best general strategy for managing my loans, given the information I’ve provided?

Thanks for your help.