{"id":17645,"date":"2019-02-19T19:47:45","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T19:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/19\/here-are-some-surprising-ways-troops-and-vets-can-cut-their-student-loan-debt\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:48:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:48:27","slug":"here-are-some-surprising-ways-troops-and-vets-can-cut-their-student-loan-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2019\/02\/19\/here-are-some-surprising-ways-troops-and-vets-can-cut-their-student-loan-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"Here are some surprising ways troops and vets can cut their student loan debt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: <\/b><\/i>The following commentary was contributed by Mike Saunders, Director of Military and Consumer Policy at the nonprofit group Veterans Education Success. The content may be edited for clarity, style and length.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of thousands of veterans, service members and their families have student loans. But most of us have no idea how much help is available to get those loans reduced or even eliminated entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surveys have shown that more than one-third of service members and half of junior enlisted service members have student loans. Even with their military education benefits, one-quarter of veterans using the Post-9\/11 GI Bill have federal student loan debt when they graduate. Today, approximately 200,000 active duty members owe a collective $2.9 billion in student loan debt. All told, student loan issues are quickly becoming a crisis in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s good news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You probably didn\u2019t know that you can get your loans reduced simply if you are not making enough money to pay your loans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s OK. That\u2019s why I\u2019m here to help you discover the ways you can reduce or even erase your student loan debt!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you\u2019re enlisted<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your first chance at reducing or eliminating student loan debt is when you join the U.S. armed forces. There are service-branch-specific programs to help alleviate student loan debt before you join the military. Even if you can\u2019t take advantage of these programs, it helps to spread awareness of them to others. And be sure to ask your recruiter about them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For anyone on active duty, and that includes National Guard and reserve members ordered to active duty, you have significant legal rights, as well. No lender \u2014 private or federal \u2014 can charge you more than a 6 percent interest rate while you\u2019re on active duty, and they must charge a 0 percent interest rate if you\u2019re serving<\/a> in a hostile area<\/a>. This is ironclad, protected by federal statute, and often overlooked by many service members; don\u2019t be one of them. Make sure your lender isn\u2019t charging you more than 6 percent while on active duty. If you decide you don\u2019t want to repay your loans on active duty then you\u2019re entitled<\/a> to postpone<\/a> your loan payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, branches have specific programs to help with student loans: For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n