Servicemember Support—We're Here for You

Members of the military may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Eligibility Requirements^*

• Only federal Direct loans are eligible.
• You must be employed full-time at a qualifying government agency or nonprofit organization. If you are a contractor, your employment doesn't count toward PSLF unless you are directly employed by a qualifying employer. If you are employed in more than one qualifying part-time job at the same time, you will be considered full-time if you work a combined average of at least 30 hours per week with your employers.
• You must make 120 on-time qualifying payments or the equivalent (or receive credit for payments).
• You must be in a qualifying repayment plan. (e.g., Revised Pay As You Earn, Income-Based Repayment, Pay As You Earn, or Income-Contingent Repayment Plans.)

Limited PSLF Waiver: What Happens After the End of the Waiver October 31, 2022

The "limited PSLF waiver" refers to the time-limited changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program rules that allowed borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. This opportunity ended on October 31, 2022 and beginning November 1, 2022, we went back to the normal program requirements for both PSLF and TEPSLF . If you submitted your PSLF form to MOHELA on time, be assured your PSLF form will be evaluated under the limited PSLF waiver rules.

You may be eligible to submit a PSLF form to MOHELA after October 31, 2022, and continue to qualify for the benefits of the waiver if you met certain criteria. For more information, visit StudentAid.gov/pslfwaiver .

If you are unable to work because of a total and permanent disability, you may be eligible for a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge of your Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), Perkins Loans, Direct Loans, or Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant service obligation.

Eligibility Requirements

A borrower may be considered totally and permanently disabled in one of the following three ways (additional details apply):

• The Total and Permanent Disability servicer regularly receives information from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) identifying veterans who may qualify for TPD discharge.
• The Total and Permanent Disability servicer regularly receives information from the Social Security Administration (SSA) identifying individuals who may qualify for TPD discharge.
• You can submit a certification from a doctor of medicine (M.D.) or osteopathy (D.O.) who is licensed to practice in the United States that you are totally and permanently disabled.

For more information on how to apply for TPD discharge or to check the status of your application, you can sign up and create an account on DisabilityDischarge.com or call (888) 303-7818 for assistance.

You can also visit StudentAid.gov for more information on the TPD discharge process.

SCRA offers a 6% maximum interest rate and waived late fees for borrowers on active duty. In most cases, the SCRA benefit begins on your first day of active duty, and expires when you're no longer on active duty. In many cases, eligible servicemembers aren't assessed late fees while receiving this benefit.

We check the U.S. Department of Defense database of active duty servicemembers each month to identify our student loan borrowers who are on active duty. We then apply the SCRA benefit to the servicemembers' federal student loans serviced by Great Lakes. If you are on active duty and don't see benefits applied to your loans, contact us. It's possible that the website doesn't reflect your active duty status.

Eligibility Requirements

• Loans must have been disbursed prior to active duty start date.
• Active duty start date must be confirmed either via the U.S. Department of Defense database or by submitting a copy of your orders.

Did You Know?

SCRA benefits for members of the National Guard or Reserves begin as of the notification listed on your orders. We can only apply the benefit from the notification date if you've provided your orders to us.

If you think you qualify for the extended benefit, please send us your orders to ensure that you get all of the benefits you're entitled to.

Zero percent interest may be available to servicemembers serving in hostile areas who are receiving special pay. If you're eligible, you won't pay any interest on your qualifying Direct loans for up to 60 months.

Eligibility Requirements

• Only federal Direct loans made on or after October 1, 2008 are eligible.
• Proof of deployment in a hostile area. Acceptable documents are a certifying official's statement and signature, military orders showing that you're serving in a hostile area, or a leave and earnings statement showing that you are receiving hostile pay.

Qualifying borrowers may be eligible to extend their Income-Based Repayment plan amount verbally based on provisions within the HEROES Act Waiver.

• Eligible service members can renew their current IDR plan up to 90 days after their end date, or a maximum of one year (whichever is less).
• Eligible non-service members can renew their current IDR plan for up to one year from the qualifying event.

Borrowers will need to contact our military helpline at (877) 253-1928 or emailing servicememberhelp@glhec.org.

Eligibility Requirements

• You're serving on active duty during a war, other military operation, or national emergency.
• You're performing qualifying National Guard duty during a war, other military operation, or national emergency.
• You're residing or employed in an area declared a disaster area by any federal, state, or local official in connection with a national emergency.
• You have suffered direct economic hardship as a result of a war or other military operation or national emergency, as determined by the U.S. Department of Education.

Military Service deferment temporarily postpones your monthly payments while you're on qualifying active duty.

Eligibility Requirements

• You must be serving during a war, military operation, or national emergency.
• You must be assigned to a duty station other than your normal station.
• Only federal loans are eligible.

If you're called to active duty while you're in school, you may be eligible to take advantage of the Post Active Duty Student deferment. If you're eligible, you won't be required to make payments for a maximum of 13 months after the end of your active duty service.

Eligibility Requirements

• You must be called to federal or state duty while you are enrolled in school.

National Guard Duty Mandatory forbearance is available to some members of the National Guard.

Eligibility Requirements

• You aren't eligible for the Military Service deferment, but are called to State active duty that qualifies you for the Post-Active Duty Student deferment.
• You must have been activated to National Guard duty within six months of being enrolled in school at least half time.
• Only federal loans are eligible.

Department of Defense Loan Repayment Program Mandatory forbearance is available to servicemembers who are performing the type of service that qualifies for partial repayment of student loans under the Department of Defense Loan Repayment Program.

Eligibility Requirements

• Eligibility varies by agency. Talk to your commanding officer to find out if you are eligible.
• Only federal loans are eligible.
• If you're waiting for a military student loan payment to go through, you can temporarily postpone your payments by applying for this forbearance.