Does deferring student loans hurt your Credit?

In a word, no. Deferring student loans does not hurt your credit rating, as long as such deferment is properly reported.  Deferment is an agreement between you and creditor, like Sallie Mae, which you must qualify for first.

Deferring student loan payments means that you have a valid reason for this to happen, and will be paying them in a future.  It is not a refusal to pay and in no way is considered as derogatory.

If you are deferring student loans, always check your credit report and score after 8 weeks you enter into agreement to verify it is properly reported.  Mistakes do occur, and it has happened that the billing department reports deferred student loan payments as late while another branch was arranging the deferrment.

Should something like that happen to you, they will quickly fix the mess after any complains.  It would hurt your credit score rating initially, but be resolved just as quickly.

One other thing to understand that while deferring student loan doesn’t hurt credit score, the deferred payment IS counted towards your debt to income ratio when applying for a mortgage, car loan, etc.  Keep the paperwork showing the terms of your deferment, so potential lender can clearly see your would be payment and when it will actually begin.