This is a free webinar hosted by the Personal Finance concentration area of the Military Families Learning Network. This 90-minute webinar will cover the process of choosing a college and evaluating education programs programs to determine the cost value of a student loan before acquiring the debt. The facilitators will also discuss using the GI Bill Comparison Tool, as well as avoiding loan scams. The second half of the webinar will take a look at repayment options and how to recover from mounting student loan debt, with special focus on options for members of the Armed Services.

1. PF SMS iconsPF SMS icons
https://learn.extension.org/events/3014
Student Loans &
Service Members
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2. Connecting military family service providers
and Cooperative Extension professionals to research
and to each other through engaging online learning opportunities
militaryfamilies.extension.org
MFLN Intro
Sign up for email notifications at militaryfamilies.extension.org/webinars2

3. Today’s Presenters
Carol Kando-Pineda
Counsel in the FTC’s Division of Consumer and
Business Education where she leads teams to create
and distribute free materials – in print, through online
tips and videos, and by social media – to help people
avoid scams, manage their money and make wise buys.
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Patrick Campbell
Policy Analyst for the Office of Servicemember Affairs
(OSA) at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
(CFPB). Patrick is one of the country’s leading experts
on the Post-9/11 GI Bill® having been a key architect of
the new program in 2008.

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5. Military.Consumer.gov
• Research what you want to do for a living
oEducation needed?
oAverage salaries
• College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov
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6. Military.Consumer.gov
• Research schools
o Department of Veterans Affairs’ GI Bill Comparison Tool
https://www.vets.gov/gi-bill-comparison-tool
 Graduation rate
 Benefits calculator
 Default rate
 Accreditation
o Will the program get you where you want to go?
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7. Military.Consumer.gov
Research schools
oCollege Navigator
 Be sure you have the correct URL:
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
 For-profit or not-for-profit
o Visit the school
o Do they offer support to veterans?
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8. Military.Consumer.gov
Research schools
o Can you get credit for your military training?
o Will other college credits transfer?
o What are the total costs?
o Read the enrollment contract
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9. Military.Consumer.gov
Is there pressure to enroll?
o That’s a big warning sign
o If they won’t give you documents before signing, don’t enroll
o Can you cancel? How?
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10. Military.Consumer.gov
Signs of trouble: Student loan relief scams
•Warning signs:
 Up-front fee
 Promising total loan forgiveness
 Tell you to stop paying your student loans
•Beware:
 A Department of Education seal doesn’t mean it’s legit
 You have time to check out your options
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11. Military.Consumer.gov
Signs of trouble: College degree scams
•Warning signs:
 No Studies, No Exams, No Interaction
 “Get a Degree for Your Experience!”
 Flat Fee
 No Waiting
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12. Military.Consumer.gov
• Signs of trouble: high school equivalency pitfalls
o Four legitimate high school equivalency tests
GED, HiSET, TASC, and CHSPE (California only)
o Must be:
in-person, supervised, closed-book tests, given on a specific date, show ID
o Can also take certain classes for HS requirements
• No state accepts
o An online high school equivalency test
o Work experience credits only
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13. Military.Consumer.gov
Questions?
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14. Servicemembers &
Student Loans
Patrick Campbell │ Office of Servicemember Affairs
Note: This presentation is being made by a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) representative on behalf of the Bureau.
It does not constitute legal interpretation, guidance or advice of the CFPB. This document was used in support of a live discussion.
As such, it does not necessarily express the entirety of that discussion nor the relative emphasis of topics therein.

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Who is this guy?
IF Veteran (Combat Medic)
dvocated for veterans for 5 years
ow works for CFPB
– Office of Servicemember Affairs

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What is the CFPB?
onsumer Financial Protection Bureau

Founded in response to the 2008 financial crisis

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Our purpose is to make markets for consumer financial products
and services work for Americans.
nsure consumers get the information they need to make
sound financial decisions.

Prices are clear up front;

Risks are visible; and

Nothing is buried in fine print.

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What is the Office of Servicemember Affairs?
hat we do:

Educate and empower consumers

Monitor complaints

Coordinate on consumer protection

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Paying for College
hat is available from the federal government?

Military Tuition Assistance

GI Bill®

Pell grants

Subsidized Federal loans

Unsubsidized Federal loans

Grad PLUS loans

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Post-9/11 GI Bill ®
Most generous GI Bill benefit since WWII
Tuition / Fees: pays in-state tuition or $21,000+/year
Living allowance: BAH for E-5 with dependents
Book stipend: $1,000/year
Yellow Ribbon Program
Transferability

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GI Bill® Comparison Tool
Combines 17-25 different websites into a “single click” tool

Calculates GI Bill benefits (all chapters of the GI Bill)

Searches through over 16,000 approved schools

Shows number of GI Bill students at that school

Flags schools that warrant extra “caution”

Displays key indicators of value
• Veteran outcomes
• Signatories to Yellow Ribbon Program, Military Tuition Assistance MOU, Principles of
Excellence, 8 Keys to Veteran Success
https://www.vets.gov/gi-bill-comparison-tool

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Federal financial aid
ow to apply?

FAFSA.gov
ips & Tricks

Pell grants & the GI Bill

Submit FAFSA early

Take out loans last

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Scholarships & grants
ational Resource Directory (VA website)
https://www.nrd.gov/
epartment of Education
https://
studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/finding-scholarships
tate and school scholarships

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Advantages of federal loans
nterest rates
• Federal government may subsidize
• Generally fixed rate versus variable
epayment
• Income-driven repayment plans available
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
• Deferment / Forbearance
• Discharge due to death or permanent disability

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Private student loans
Private student loans usually…
ave higher costs than federal student loans
equire a co-signer
ave less flexible repayment options
xplore all your federal loan options first

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Repaying Student Debt
etween 2007 and 2017,

Total volume of outstanding student loan debt more than doubled,

Growing from less than $600 billion to more than $1.4 trillion today
tudent loans debt is second only to mortgages
oday, the average borrower with student loan debt owes over
$30,000, an increase of 60 percent over the last eight years.
t least one-in-four student loan borrowers is behind on his or her
payments or in default.

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Repaying Student Debt
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/201604_cfpb_servicemember-student-loan-guide.pdf

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Repaying student debt
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/military-student-loan-benefits.pdf

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Repaying Student Debt
Student loan benefits for servicemembers
6% interest cap (SCRA)

On pre-active duty service loans

Federal loans
• SCRA benefits are now automatically applies to Federal loans
• At least 300,000 more military borrowers have obtained the SCRA rate cap

Private loans
• SCRA must be requested
• Some private loan servicers proactively apply SCRA benefits
• Sometimes there mistakes (file a complaint)

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Student loan benefits for servicemembers
 0% interest for service in area of hostile fire

Must be requested (very few ask for this benefit)

Applies only to Direct Loans
 Perkins loans forgiveness

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Student loan benefits for servicemembers
Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans
Monthly payments can be reduced based on income and
family size
PAYE – caps monthly payments at 10% of discretionary
income
If income is low enough (e.g., E-1) the monthly payment could
be $0/month

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Student loan benefits for servicemembers
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
Active duty servicemembers (and veterans) meeting certain
requirements may have the balance of their federal student
loans forgiven after working in public service for ten years.

10 years of qualifying public service- military counts.

120 on-time payments

Must have a qualifying loan (only Direct Loans and Direct
Consolidation loans. )
• Consolidating older loans may disqualify those loans for the 6%
SCRA interest cap

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Student loan benefits for servicemembers
HEROES Act Waiver
While are on “active duty,” ED waives many of the
documentation requirements attached to federal student loan
benefits.
For example, if a servicemember is on an income-driven
repayment plan and military service prevents them from
providing updated information on family size and income, the
servicemember can make a request to have the monthly
payment amount maintained.

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Student loan benefits for servicemembers
Military deferments
Allows a servicemember to delay payments during certain
periods of military service.
For private student loans - availability is at the discretion of
the lender

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Student loan benefits for servicemembers
Veterans Total and Permanent Disability
May qualify for discharge of student loans.
VA has to determine that the servicemember is unemployable
due to a service-connected disability.

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Inappropriate requirements for seeking SCRA
OJ and the FDIC ordered Sallie Mae and Navient to

Pay nearly $100 million

To more than 77,000 servicemembers
egulators determined that the companies were:

Unfairly conditioning receipt of benefits under the SCRA upon
requirements not found in the law;

Improperly advising servicemembers that they must be deployed to
receive benefits under the SCRA; and

Failing to provide complete SCRA relief to servicemembers after having
been put on notice of these borrowers’ active-duty status

37. Questions & Discussion
For more information, visit:
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/servicemembers/
Contact:
military@cfpb.gov
www.consumerfinance.gov/servicemembers

38. Connect with MFLN Personal Finance Online!
MFLN Personal Finance
MFLN Personal Finance @MFLNPF
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39. MFLN Intro
We invite MFLN Service Provider Partners
to our private LinkedIn Group!
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8409844
DoD
Branch Services
Reserve
Guard
Cooperative Extension

40. Evaluation & Continuing Education
Credits/Certificate of Completion
MFLN Personal Finance grants 1.5 credit hours for today’s
webinar for AFC-credentialed through AFCPE and CPFC-
credentialed participants through FinCert.
Please complete the evaluation and post-test at:
https://vte.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eDt6W6Dmcv4MUfz
Must pass post-test with an 80% or higher to receive certificate.
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41. Personal Finance Upcoming Events
Lunch & Learn: Money Apps – A Review
• Date: May 12, 2017
• Time: 12 p.m. Eastern
• Location: learn.extension.org/events/3056
50 Interactive Personal Finance Learning Activities
• Date: May 16, 2017
• Time: 11 a.m. Eastern
• Location: learn.extension.org/events/2971
For more information on MFLN Personal Finance go to:
https://militaryfamilies.extension.org/personal-finance
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42. militaryfamilies.extension.org/webinars