Military Student Loan Deferment

Military student loan deferment is offered to those who are in the armed forces so that their student loans can be postponed during or due to active duty periods, which may interfere with the regular payment cycles for those loans. This also covers other delays that can affect those in the military.

Military loan deferment is done by specifying a certain period of time that the student loan payment will be delayed or deferred. 

This is to help reduce the hardship placed on military personal by their complex schedules and required service periods during which many financial issues simply can’t be addressed and/ or time doesn’t allow for preparations to made until after the service period is over.

Types of Military Student Loan Deferment

There are two types of military student loan deferment:

·        Post-active Duty: Post-active duty deferment is for those who’ve just completed their tour of duty for the National Guard or other military reserve and who have been enrolled for at least half time prior to that period of active duty. Those who qualify for this type of student loan deferment are eligible for the 13 month period after they’ve completed their active duty - or the point at which they resume half-time enrollment - whichever comes first.

·        Active Duty: Active duty deferment is for those who are called away to duty during a war, a national emergency or another type of military operation. These military personnel are eligible for as many as 180 days of deferment after they’ve been demobilized. This type of loan deferment took effect on October 1^st, 2007.

Deferment covers the period of time you will be away serving in the military plus the period of time referred to in each of the two types above but not exceeding 3 years.

You will need to have a student loan that is classified as Perkins Loan, Direct Loan or FFEL to qualify for the military deferment.

You will be required to talk with a loan officer about the status of your student loans and how your current military status affects your ability to get a deferment.

You will also need to provide any information the lending officer asks for to verify your status and the status of your loan to complete the request for military student loan deferment.

Keeping in mind that not all student loans that qualify for military deferment will also defer the interest accrued during that time, it is important that you know exactly how much the deferment will help you and which loans could still come to affect you while you’re on active duty.

It is well worth your time to research which loans can continue to have a financial impact even while you are away on duty before you apply for loans if you already know ahead that you’ll be serving in any part of the military, national guard or other reserves while you would like to be attending college. 

There are also several other loans and helpful programs for military personnel that shouldn’t be overlooked when you look into going to college during or after your service period. Make sure you utilize any programs you qualify for under these programs.