Navy Student Loan Repayment Program
Qualifications
This repayment program is for active-duty Sailors in the first three years of service.
Loans Eligible
How it Works
If you meet requirements, which are sent to you via personal message, the Navy will repay one-third of an approved Loan Repayment Program incentive amount or $1,500 on your first, second, and third year of active duty. In total, the Navy could repay your loans by up to $65,000.
This program is currently only available to eligible personnel in the delayed entry program who will enlist as active duty Sailors.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is quite specific. And it isnt exactly a student loan program either. It can reduce your debt if you have interest higher than 6%. This applies to student loans and other types of debt as well.
PRO TIP: You need to apply for the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act before you join the military. It will take effect while youre on active duty. But it will only forgive loans youve acquired before you went on duty.
How Do I Know If My Loans Have Been Forgiven
If the Department of Education determines that you qualify for a TPD discharge, youll receive a notification that your loans have been forgiven or your TEACH Grant service obligation does not need to be completed. Youll also receive a refund of any loan payments you made on or after the effective date of your disability certification.
If you qualify due to SSA documentation or a physicians certification, note that you will be subject to a three-year monitoring period. If you dont meet certain conditions at any time during this period, your loan or grant service obligation will be reinstated.
Reinstatement may occur if any of the following happens during the three-year period:
- Your annual earnings from employment exceed the poverty guideline amount for a family of two in your state.
- You receive a new federal student loan under the direct loan program or a new TEACH Grant.
- You get another disbursement from a direct loan or TEACH Grant that was first disbursed before your discharge, and you dont return it within 120 days.
- The SSA notifies the Department of Education that youre no longer disabled or that your next scheduled disability review will no longer be five to seven years from your last determination.
How To Get Your Student Loan Forgiven If You Have A Disability
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that tens of thousands of disabled veterans may not be aware that they are eligible for student loan forgiveness. Since the creation of the federal student loan program, borrowers who are considered totally and permanently disabled have been eligible to have their federal student loans forgiven.
Importantly, your student loan discharge here only applies to federal student loans. If you have private student loans, check with your lender about permanent discharge options. Many private student loans offer similar permanent discharge benefits. In 2016, the Department of Education worked with the US Social Security Administration to identify borrowers with disabilities eligible for permanent discharge. In a combined effort, 387,000 borrowers with disabilities collectively received more than $7.7 billion in federal student loans. Almost half of these borrowers have defaulted on their student loans .
The good news is that disabled veterans will not pay any federal income tax on their student loan debt, according to a memo signed by Trump today. Trump is also asking states to exempt veterans receiving student loan forgiveness from state income tax. To learn how to implement these strategies to get the VA benefits you deserve, click here to speak with a VA claims professional for free.
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Debt Forgiveness For Veterans
The department of the Defence My Carrer and Advancement in Account Scholarship Program is the best program that helps the dependent of disabled veterans in their education by providing them with the amount up to $40,000. 42,000 disabled veterans approximately are eligible for disabled veteran debt forgiveness among which 18 % qualified for their loans dismissed.
Social Security Administration Documentation
If you’re eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security income, you can qualify for TPD forgiveness by providing documentation from the Social Security Administration that your next scheduled disability review is five to seven years or more from your last disability determination.
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What Are Survivors And Dependents Educational Assistance
Certain dependents of the disabled veterans can get the education of approximately 4 years and guidance opportunities via this program.
The person who eligible for this program is the spouse or dependent of the veteran who died or completely disabled because of the service-connected disability or died due to the disability. age of the dependent must be in the range of 18 to 26 years.
Lender And Bonus Disclosure
All rates listed represent APR range. Commonbond: If you refinance over $100,000 through this site, $500 of the cash bonus listed above is provided directly by Student Loan Planner.
CommonBond Disclosures: Refinancing
Offered terms are subject to change and state law restriction. Loans are offered by CommonBond Lending, LLC , NMLS Consumer Access. If you are approved for a loan, the interest rate offered will depend on your credit profile, your application, the loan term selected and will be within the ranges of rates shown. If you choose to complete an application, we will conduct a hard credit pull, which may affect your credit score. All Annual Percentage Rates displayed assume borrowers enroll in auto pay and account for the 0.25% reduction in interest rate. All variable rates are based on a 1-month LIBOR assumption of 0.15% effective Jan 1, 2021 and may increase after consummation.
CommonBond Disclosures: Private, In-School Loans
Student Loan Planner® Disclosures
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This Federal Program Wipes Away Disabled Vets Student Debt Theyre Defaulting On Their Loans Anyway
Nearly 42,000 disabled veterans are eligible to have their federal student loan debt dismissed.
But only about 18 percent of them have gotten their loans dismissed, according to the Department of Education. And making matters worse, around 25,000 disabled veterans have already defaulted on their student loans.
Veterans who have a total and permanent service-connected disability or receive disability benefits at the 100-percent level are eligible for the loan forgiveness program, called Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, or TPD. This loan forgiveness can also apply to federal student loans that disabled veterans take out for their children.
Last spring, the Education and Veterans Affairs Departments launched a data sharing initiative to cross-check the VAs records of veterans with a total and permanent service-connected disability against the Education Departments database of student loan borrowers. When theres a match, the Education Department mails the veteran a simplified TPD application.
As of October, about 42,000 veterans had been contacted, and 7,700 had their loans discharged, according to information provided by the Education Department this week. That leads advocates to wonder whether theres more the federal government can do to expand the benefits reach.
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But department officials said its not quite that simple.
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Could this government program wipe away all your student loan debt?
Disability Discharge Tips And Faqs
Q: Is it possible to work and still be eligible for a disability discharge?A:Even though the government may say otherwise, the answer should be yes. You are allowed to earn less than 100% of the poverty line for a family of two during the three year watch period after a final discharge is granted. This allows you to explore whether you can get back in the workforce.
Q. Can I qualify if I have a disability that prevents me from working in the occupation for which I was trained?A: Not if you are able to work in a different occupation. To be eligible, your disability must make you unable to engage in any type of substantial gainful activity.
Q: Is evidence of a Social Security or Veterans Affairs disability decision sufficient to qualify for a student loan discharge?A: For V.A., yes, if you have been determined to be unemployable due to a service-connected condition. For Social Security, in some cases, yes as of July 1, 2013. If you are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits, you can submit a Social Security Administration notice of award for SSDI or SSI benefits stating that your next scheduled disability review will be within 5 to 7 years from the date of your most recent SSA disability determination as a way of proving eligibility for a disability discharge. You may do this instead of submitting a certification from your doctor.
Q: Can I apply again if I was denied the first time?
1. Pay stubs showing year-to-date income,
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Get Help Figuring Out Your Student Loans
While you should start by contacting your servicer about the opportunities listed above, you can also reach out to our team at Student Loan Planner to get professional help from one of our CFP® or CSLP® professionals.
Veterans deserve more, but often get left holding the bag when it comes to student loan debt. Do your homework and get help figuring out your student loan options if you think you need it.
Travis Hornsby, CFA is a speaker and the founder of Student Loan Planner, which he launched after helping his physician wife navigate ridiculously complex student loan repayment decisions. To date, Student Loan Planner has consulted on over $1 billion in student debt. Travis is a chartered financial analyst. Hes been featured in U.S. News, Business Insider, Forbes, Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, ChooseFi, Bigger Pockets, Afford Anything, Money, and more.
Looking for more education resources? Click here for your free copy of the 2022 Military Education Guide.
Choosing The Right Student Loan Forgiveness Program
The best student loan forgiveness program for military spouses is the one they qualify for. Keep in mind that not all loan forgiveness options work well together. Take time to analyze your situation and available options for the program or programs that make the most sense for your family.
In the meantime, if youre having difficulty making payments, consider deferment and forbearance. If forgiveness isnt the right fit, you can consider refinancing to a lower interest rate as well with a private lender .
Being a military spouse is challenging enough without the added stress that comes with student loan debt. Take advantage of GI Bill benefits to fund your education or loan forgiveness programs to cover existing loan debt.
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Take our 11 question quiz to get a personalized recommendation of whether you should pursue PSLF, IDR forgiveness, or refinancing .
Filed Under: Student Loan Forgiveness
About Kevin Payne
Kevin Payne is a freelance writer and contributor to Student Loan Planner. Kevin also writes about family finances and travel on his site FamilyMoneyAdventure.com. Kevin lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife and four kids.
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How To Apply For Disability Student Loan Forgiveness
Not long ago, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announced the department would provide automatic TPD discharges using data matching to identify borrowers listed in the SSA and VAâs system as having a qualifying disability rating.
In addition to removing this application barrier, the department shared it would:
- Stop asking borrowers to provide information about their current income.
- Pursue eliminating the three-year monitoring period for income.
Borrowers seeking disability discharge based on a physicianâs certification do not qualify for this automatic forgiveness. They can start the student loan forgiveness for disability process by visiting disabilitydischarge.com. That website, which is administered by the student loan servicer Nelnet, allows you to apply online or by submitting a paper form.
You have four options to submit the application:
- Submit TPD form by postal mail: US Department of Education, PO Box 87130, Lincoln, NE 68501-7130.
- Submit TPD form by fax: 303-696-5250.
- Submit TPD form by email:DisabilityInformation@Nelnet.net.
- Submit TPD form online:.
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Prior Service Loan Repayment Program
This isnt exactly a forgiveness program.
Its a repayment plan that can remove as much as the same amount as other programs. It caters to soldiers in the Army Reserve who have served in the military.
Under this program, you can receive up to $50,000 toward student loan payments. If you are pursuing this repayment plan, youll want to consult with your loan servicer.
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Air Force College Loan Repayment Program
With this program, the Air Force pays up to $10,000 for service members who agree to serve at least three years, at a rate of one-third of their student loan balance per year. If you join the Air Force Judge Advocate Generals Corps, you can qualify for up to $65,000 in federal loan repayment after three years of service.
Are Gi Bill Benefits Ever Limited For Military Spouses
Most members of the Armed Forces dont make a career out of the military. If they only serve a few years and then get out, education benefits received through the GI Bill are limited.
Financial benefits received through the GI Bill are prorated based on the length of service. Navigating GI Bill benefits isnt easy with all of its requirements and stipulations. Visit milConnect for more detailed information about how to apply for a benefit transfer.
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Are Veterans Eligible For Student Loan Forgiveness
As a veteran, you may be eligible for a host of benefits that can lower your cost of higher education. For example, the GI Bill can help pay for some or all of your tuition and fees, as well as housing expenses and the cost of textbooks while youre in school.
If you already have student loans, you may qualify for loan forgiveness. Depending on when and for how long you served, and when you took out your loans, you may be eligible to have your student loans forgiven or discharged as a veteran. A few different federal programs offer this benefit. Here are a few of the most common.
Proving Total And Permanent Disability
Even though the recent executive order automating TPD discharges has been signed and implemented, some veterans may still have fallen through the cracks of the automation process and might be required to show their disability to receive relief.
If you have a total and permanent disability and have not been directly contacted by the Department of Education or your loan servicer, you will need to send some documentation of your ailment at the time of your application.
You can show disability in several ways:
- Provide documentation from the VA that states you had a service-related disability, which was 100% prohibitive of employment. This document must also contain the effective date of the VAs disability determination.
- Provide a doctors certification from a licensed M.D. or D.O. indicating your permanent disability and your inability to work because of it. This document must include a specific indication of a physical or mental impairment that you have already endured or can be expected to endure for a continuous period of at least 60 months or can be expected to result in death.
You will not be required to submit documentation of your SSA disability determination. If, for any reason, you are receiving SSDI or SSI benefits, and your next scheduled disability review falls within that five-to-seven-year range, and you have not been contacted about a TPD discharge yet, you can apply using the standard application form.
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What Loans Qualify For Tpd Discharge
All federal student loans are eligible for discharge due to disability, including:
- Federal Parent PLUS Loans â discharged only if the parent becomes disabled.
- Federal Family Education Loans .
- Federal Perkins Loans.
- Joint Spousal Consolidation Loans â the non-disabled spouse will still be responsible for the loan.
For private student loan debt, contact your lender to learn if theyâll forgive your loans due to disability. Read more about private student loan forgiveness programs.
How Disabled Borrowers Prove Eligibility
There are three options to prove your disability and start the discharge process:
- Physicianâs certification: Your primary care physician or specialist can certify they believe you can no longer work due to your medical issues. To apply, you will need to download a PDF copy of the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Application form and get your doctorâs certification.
- Social Security Notice of Award: You qualify if two things are true: First, you receive Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits. Second, your notice of award letter from the Social Security Administration must say that your next scheduled disability review will be within five to seven years from the date of your most recent SSA disability determination.
- Veteran Affairs Determination Letter: If you are a veteran with a service-connected condition that has left you unemployable, you can qualify for this type of loan discharge without providing documentation from your doctor. As a veteran, you will qualify if you have a letter from the VA stating you either have a service-connected disability that is 100% disabling or if you are totally disabled based on an individual unemployability rating.
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The Gi Bill And Military Spouses
The GI Bill dates back to 1944 and was created to help military service members and their families cover educational costs for college and other types of training. The Post-9/11 GI Bill brought changes to eligibility and benefits covered by the GI Bill for active duty service members after September 10, 2001.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides up to 36 months of benefits, including:
- Tuition and school fees
- Money for books and supplies
- Limited moving expenses