The federal government has now made more information about military educational loans, benefit programsand repayment options available to America’s servicemen and servicewomen. This came with the release of a new brochure announced today.
“We know that our servicemen and women are faced with an abundance of challenges and transitions while deployed and upon returning to civilian life,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, “with Memorial Day approaching, we want to redouble our efforts to ease their transition and provide them with educational opportunities, resources, and the ongoing support they have earned. This easy-to-read brochure is a small ,but important way to help – it outlines what service members need to know to manage their student loans and maximize their benefits.”
The brochure, entitled “For Members of the U.S. Armed Services: What You Need to Know About Your Federal Student Loan Benefits” was developed by the Department of Defense and the four Title IV Student Loan Servicers: FedLoan Servicing, Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Nelnet Education Loan Servicing and Sallie Mae Department of Education Loan Services.
The free brochure is divided into three parts: the first section describes the benefits and the repayment options available to service members; the second section offers helpful tips for active duty or deployed service members; and the third provides useful student loan resources. Some of the tips and benefits are listed as follows:
n Establishing online access to student loan accounts to review and make payments online;
n Exploring repayment plans based on income, which could qualify borrowers for low or zero payment and possible loan forgiveness;
n Signing up for automatic payments to help keep loans current; and
n Placing an active duty alert on credit reports to reduce the risk of identity theft.
Consumers can access the brochure at http://StudentAid.gov/resources#military-loan-benefits.