PHEAA Armed Forces Loan Forgiveness

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Aug 26, 2003

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) has created the Armed Forces Loan Forgiveness Program to provide a one-time loan forgiveness benefit to our servicemen and women, said Rep. Tom Gannon (R-161).

The Armed Forces Loan Forgiveness Program was created to recognize the bravery, dedication, and loyalty of servicemen and women who served in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.

The program provides a one-time loan forgiveness benefit up to $2,500 for student borrowers who served in the Armed Forces in an active duty status between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2003. Borrowers who only served on a two-week active duty assignment for training are not eligible. Applicants must have an eligible, non-defaulted loan such as a PHEAA Guaranteed Loan, an AES Stafford, Consolidation, PLUS, SLS, HEAL, or KeystoneEXTRA Loan. These loans must be disbursed on or before Sept. 30, 2003.

Eligible applicants must meet one of three following criteria:

A current resident or a state resident who was living in Pennsylvania at the time of enlistment and was in the military continuously through at least Sept. 11, 2001, regardless of current residence.

A non-resident of Pennsylvania who left a Pennsylvania-approved institution of post-secondary education due to a call to active duty.

A non-resident of Pennsylvania who enlisted in the military immediately after attending a Pennsylvania-approved institution of post-secondary education.

PHEAA will automatically send applications to potentially eligible recipients based on military records. Applications must completed and returned to PHEAA by June 30, 2004.

For more information concerning the Armed Forces Loan Forgiveness Program, visit http://www.pheaa.org or http://www.aesSuccess.org on the Web, or call the toll-free Customer Service number at 1-800-233-0557.