I had friends in the DoED and got to see the inner workings of the student loan system.
Getting a deferral stopped the payments, but not the interest. It was not uncommon to see $60,000+ in student loan debt, and the borrower hadn’t paid in 10 years while the interest piled up.
The only way out, permanent disability, was gamed greatly, and you would be surprised how many people found doctors willing to state they could never work again.
I’m also familiar with the inner workings of the Dept of ED and I concur that it may be too easy to game “Total and Permanent Disability.” Many doctors perhaps will sign anything put before them. The pendulum has swung over the years back and forth (auditors finding too many TPD writeoffs vs too much bureaucratic strictness) based on audits but now they are matched to findings of disability by SSA which may or may not help.