you anytime–even when you’re retired–to collect past-due college loans. Surely you don’t want your Social Security checks garnisheed!
Don’t make the mistake of keeping quiet if you’re facing a financial hardship, student lending expert Marc Woolf says. “No repo man can say ‘I’m going to take your education,'” he quips. College loans are unique “in that the lender and the school will work very diligently and bend over backward to help a student that’s having problems.” The problem, however, is that students in financial crisis don’t communicate with their school or their lender. “But if they would communicate,” Woolf says, “The school or the lender is usually more than likely to offer the student a deferment or forbearance,” permitting students to postpone making payments.