A deferral is also the act of putting something off until a later date. The plan, payment, or decision is delayed, not dropped. You hear deferral a great deal in business, law, and money talk: a deferral of the launch, a tax deferral, a deferral of judgment. In accounting in particular, deferral is the normal word — you still owe the tax or you still recognise the income, just later. In ordinary conversation, delay or postpone is more natural. Deferral and deferment are very close; deferral is the one offices and finance teams reach for, while deferment is the one you often see with loans and military service. Neither word means respect.