Student loan deferment is when a student defers his student loan payments. This can occur for several different reasons. Some examples of deferment are financial hardship, enrolled in school, military deployment, internship and unemployment. Deferment is temporary and doesn’t mean that you don’t have to pay your loans back. Student loan deferment is for a given time frame. Eligibility may change if your financial status changes. Deferment can be granted more than once and may be stripped if your financial status changes.