% Interest While Serving In A Hostile Area
This benefit is for specific loan types only.
- This benefit is available for Federal Direct Loans, disbursed on or after October 1, 2008, only.
- For Federal Direct Consolidation Loans, the underlying loans cannot have been disbursed prior to October 1, 2008.
- If you’re serving on active duty in an area of hostilities in which service qualifies for special pay under 37 USC 310, you’re eligible for 0% interest on your loans for up to 60 months.
To request this interest rate, submit one of the following forms of documentation:
Navy Student Loan Repayment Program
The Navy repayment program offers up to $65,000 in loan repayment over the course of a three-year active duty enlistment, paying 33 1/3% of your loan balance each year. You must have taken out the federal loan prior to enlisting in the Navy, and you must submit an application to the repayment program prior to enlisting.
Easing The Burden Without Erasing The Debt
Loan forgiveness is not the only way to get relief from your student debt payments as an active-duty Service Member. There are other options that can alleviate some of the burdens of your debt, at least while you serve.
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Interest Rate Cap
This program caps the interest applied to all federal AND private student loans at 6%. This way, your loans dont balloon during and immediately following active-duty service.
0% Interest
During active-duty service is a hostile area, interest on Direct federal loans is eliminated completely for up to 60 months. You must be serving in a hostile region that qualifies you for special pay to qualify for this program. It also doesnt apply to other types of federal loans or any private loans.
Deferment options
There are also two options for deferment of your student loan debt, where your payments temporarily stop without penalties. The first option is for people on active-duty service who are already paying off their loans. Payments are deferred for a certain period of time. You dont have to pay during a war, a national emergency, or an operation.
The second option is for students still attending school who have student loans. In most cases, if you stop attending school at least part-time then your loan repayment schedule starts. This deferment option allows you to serve on active duty without worrying that your student loan payments will start as a result.
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College Loan Repayment Program
Benefit Fact Sheet
The Loan Repayment Program is a special incentive that the Army offers to highly qualified applicants entering the Army. Under the LRP, the Army will repay part of a Soldier’s qualifying student loans. Only specified Military Occupational Specialties qualify for the LRP.
Non-prior service, initial-term Army Reserve Soldiers on drilling status are eligible for the Loan Repayment Program if they meet the following conditions:
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Soldier must have Loan Repayment Program guaranteed in writing in the enlistment contract
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Soldier must enlist for a minimum of six years
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Soldier must have a high school diploma and a score of 50 or higher on the Armed Forces Qualification Test
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Soldier must enlist in one of the critical MOSs that qualifies for the program.
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Every Soldier has an established SLRP contract effective date when they can receive payments. The contract effective date for loans have to be a year old.
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If any changes are made outside of the executed agreement, Student Loan Repayment Program may be subject to termination.
The Army will repay 15 percent of the outstanding principal balance, less taxes of the Soldier’s student loans annually or $1,500, whichever is greater, after each year of service .
Loans that qualify for repayment:
This includes:
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Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (only loans incurred for the Soldier’s education
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Supplemental Loans for Students
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William D. Ford Loans
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Consolidated Loans
Specialized Training Assistance Program
STRAP provides a $2,466 monthly stipend throughout a participants residency. In exchange for STRAP benefits, participants serve one year in the Army Reserve for each six months of stipend they receive.By integrating STRAP benefits with the Army Reserve Healthcare Professionals Loan Repayment Program incentive, participants will receive an additional $250,000 for student-loan repayment.
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National Defense Student Loan Discharge
The National Defense Student Loan Discharge is designed to help those who have put their lives on the line for their country. To qualify, you must have served at least one year in an area deemed imminent danger or in direct fire and have a Perkins or Direct student loan.
The application for the discharge includes a Department of Defense form and a letter explaining why you believe you qualify sent directly to the servicers of your loan. The amount discharged is partial and varies, so it is best to contact your loan company.
Us Army Reserve Minuteman Scholarship
The Minuteman Scholarship gives students interested in joining the Reserve Officers Training Corps the chance to receive up to full tuition or $10,000 in room and board in return for a service commitment.As part of the Simultaneous Membership Program, Minuteman Scholarship recipients can serve in the Army Reserve while studying, and will earn a salary from their Army Reserve unit.Benefits include:
- Annual book allowance of up to $1,200
- Monthly living stipend between $300-$500
- Job placement as an Officer in the Army Reserve after graduation and commissioning
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Air Force Judge Advocate Generals Corps Loan Repayment Program
In the Judge Advocate Generals Corps , JAG officers handle all legal matters for the military. Lawyers who join the Air Force Judge Advocate Generals Corps program could receive up to $65,000 in loan repayments. After your first year of service as a JAG officer, you will receive the payments over a three-year period.
What Should Reservists Understand About Their Service Commitment
- Military training or service you performed will not satisfy the NHSC service commitment.
- You should request a suspension if your military training and/or service, combined with your other absences from the service site, will exceed seven weeks per service year.
- We will extend the service commitment end date to compensate for the break in NHSC service.
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National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration Deferment
This deferment is for those on active duty in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .
- Maximum eligibility is three years, and is a combined limit with Armed Forces and Public Health Service Deferments.
- This deferment is only available for Stafford and SLS borrowers on or after July 1, 1987 but before July 1, 1993.
- Federal Consolidation, PLUS, Direct PLUS, and Direct PLUS Consolidation Loans are not eligible for the NOAA Deferment.
Reserve Officer Training Corps College Program
ROTC is not a loan forgiveness program, but a college program that prepares students to become officers in the military. The program pays for your college education in exchange for your service post-graduation. This program is offered through the Army, Air Force, and Navy. The Navy ROTC offers a Marine curriculum if you aspire to become a Marine Corps officer. You can learn more on the military branches respective websites.
Read Also: What Is An Army Specialist
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
If you have been employed by the military for 10 years, you may be eligible for loan forgiveness payments through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, There is no cap on how much debt can be forgiven, but you only qualify for PSLF after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments toward your Direct loan student loan debt.
You can find a PSLF application here.
Officer And Warrant Officer Accession Bonus
Candidates for Army Reserve Officer and Warrant Officer positions can choose between cash bonuses or student loan repayment benefits when they join and successfully complete training and commissioning for an in-demand field. A $20,000 cash bonus or up to $30,000 in Student Loan Repayment is available for eligible positions.
Get in Touch.
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Coast Guard Student Loan Repayment Program
This program is for students who wish to enlist in the Coast Guard and who are:
- currently enrolled in a bachelors degree program
- recent graduates from a bachelors program
- enrolled in a graduate program at a qualifying college or institution
Once you are a commissioned officer, you can receive debt repayment up to $10,000 per year for six years.
What About Those Whose Balances Will Be Zero
Those whose balances are wiped out before their incentives first annual installment paid out to their loan servicer may submit a request to the Army Review Board Agencys Army Board for Correction of Military Records and request the programs service commitment be waived, Minitrez said.
For troops using the regular Army loan repayment program, this could eliminate their three-year additional service commitment and allow them to become qualified for the 50 percent Post 9/11 GI Bill education incentive payable rate at 90 calendar days after completion of their Advanced Individual Training, as opposed to the 3 year and 90 calendar day mark had they kept their loan repayment incentive, Minitrez said.
There may be other criteria required by a soldiers individual enlistment contract, so Soldiers with questions should contact their personnel office, he said.
Its not clear whether those who have in-progress loan repayment contracts against loans that have been forgiven will be able to shed their service commitment or start accruing Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
The Department of Education has a fact-sheet available for those seeking information on student loan forgiveness, including how to sign up for notification when the forgiveness application becomes available by early October.
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Your Guide To Military Student Loan Forgiveness And Repayment
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Selected Reserve Montgomery Gi Bill
As a Soldier in the Army Reserve, you can take advantage of the Montgomery GI Bill as a way to pay for your college education. This program pays up to $384 in monthly tuition payments for a maximum of 36 months, and a maximum total of $15,483 in tuition. These benefits must be used while you are still serving and cant be used after your service ends.
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Army Reserves Health Professionals Student Loan Repayment Program
If you are a health professional and an Army Reserve Member, your student loans might be eligible for student loan forgiveness. Read more below.
Am I eligible?
If you are a health professional and a member of the Army Reserve, you may qualify for this award. To be eligible, you must either be enrolled in a program of education leading to professional qualifications, or be performing satisfactory service as an officer in the Selected Reserve of an armed force and already possess professional qualifications.
In addition, you must be in a health profession that the Secretary of Defense has determined to be needed critically in order to meet identified wartime combat medical skill shortages.
How much is the award?
If you qualify, you are eligible to receive a maximum of $20,000 per year and a lifetime maximum of $50,000. The amount of repayment depends on the length of your service after the date on which the loan was made.
Which loans qualify?
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Army Slrp Benefits & The Post 9/11 Gi Bill
When the SLRP program was first announced, in order to qualify for its benefits, you had to completely waive participation in the Post 9/11 GI Bill, but the situation has changed , and you can now apparently satisfy eligibility guidelines for both programs simply by signing an extended service contract.
While army college loan repayment benefits are available to those who sign up for 4 year enlistments, both SLRP and Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits are being made to those enlistees who agree to join up for 6 years.
If you ever plan on returning to college again, then you will want to strongly consider enlisting for at least 6 years, since Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits provide tens of thousands of dollars in tuition assistance.
Also Check: Colorado Army National Guard Recruiter
Roger E Coe Loan Fund
Established in March 1981 by a gift from Roger M. and Ruby M. Coe. Two loans of $2500.00 are awarded in the spring of each year to Osteopathic medical students who have completed their second or third year at Western University and are particularly interested in osteopathic manipulative skills. Interest begins to accrue at the time the loan is disbursed at the rate of five percent. First payment begins immediately after graduation with full repayment of the loan funds within five years.
Armed Forces/public Health Service Deferment
This deferment is for those on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States.
- Maximum eligibility is three years, and is a combined limit with Public Health Service and NOAA deferments.
- This deferment is only available for Stafford and SLS borrowers who are not new borrowers on or after 7/1/93 and for PLUS parent loans prior to 8/15/83.
- To qualify, you must be on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. Please note that Federal Consolidation Loans are not eligible for this deferment.
Note: If youre enlisted in a reserve component of the Armed Forces or the National Guard , reserves may qualify for this deferment only if: serving full time for a period expected to last at least 1 year, or serving under an order for national mobilization.
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Medical And Dental Student Stipend Program
The MDSSP provides a monthly stipend of more than $2,400 to individuals accepted into an accredited medical program. Participants are assigned the primary Area of Concentration of 00E67 in the Medical Service Corps. The MDSSP commitment is a one-year obligation in the Army Reserve for each six months of financial assistance.
Military Student Loan Repayment Programs
Not only do the members of our military make sacrifices for our country, but many also struggle with student loan debt. Fortunately, there are several programs that give servicemen and -women the opportunity to have some or all of their loans forgiven or discharged. The Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and/or Reserves, Marines, and Coast Guard all offer a form of student loan repayment programs.
Keep in mind that most military student loan programs apply to federal loans, such as Direct, FFEL, and Perkins* Loans, but not to private loans.
*The Perkins Loan program expired in September 2017. If you took out a Perkins Loan in the past, however, they still qualify for loan assistance.
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Are Slrp Benefits Taxable Income
Unfortunately, yes, your Army college loan repayment program benefits are counted as taxable income.
However, you wont ever actually get any of the money thats provided as LRP for your debt, because the Federal Government sends payments directly to your lender, and it witholds 28% of what it would have paid out on your behalf each year for distribution to the IRS.
So, while LRP benefits do count as taxable income , you wont have to make any out of pocket payments to account for them.
And thats a huge benefit, because most other forms of student loan forgiveness do require you to include them as taxable income on your annual tax return, and to pay the IRS a percentage of the benefits you received.
If youre looking at other forms of student loan forgiveness, and wondering how theyll compare to the Army LRP program, then please make sure to visit my page about Student Loan Forgiveness and Taxable Income Laws.
And if youre concerned about tax liabilities, or if you already have tax problems of your own, then please consider visiting my new website, Forget Tax Debt, where I offer advice, tips and tricks for decreasing your outstanding tax debt, covering topics like Settling an IRS Tax Debt, Applying for IRS Tax Debt Forgiveness Benefits, and Avoiding IRS Phone Scams.