Biden Administration Forgives Another $7.7B in Student Loan Debt
Credit: Image Credit: The Washington Post / Contributor / Getty Images- Joe Biden’s administration has continually forgiven student loans during his presidency.
- His latest action impacts three groups of borrowers.
- Most of this latest debt forgiveness applies to public servants.
President Joe Biden has approved another $7.7 billion in federal student loan discharges.
The Department of Education (ED) announced that the latest debt forgiveness impacts 160,500 borrowers.
It includes debt forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, low-income borrowers who took advantage of the income-driven repayment (IDR) account adjustment, and those who took out relatively small loans who qualify for early forgiveness through Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.
Here’s the breakdown of the latest debt relief action:
- Fixes to PSLF — $5.2 billion for 66,900 borrowers
- IDR account adjustment — $1.9 billion for 39,200 borrowers
- SAVE plan early forgiveness — $613 million for 54,300 borrowers
Borrowers who enroll in SAVE are eligible for debt forgiveness in 10 years instead of 20 if they originally borrowed $12,000 or less. For every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower must add one year to the timeline for forgiveness.
Biden’s latest announcement brings his administration’s total debt forgiveness to $167 billion during his presidency.
The Biden administration has now forgiven some amount of federal student loan debt for one out of every 10 borrowers, according to an ED statement.
The Biden-Harris administration remains persistent about our efforts to bring student debt relief to millions more across the country, and this announcement proves it,
ED Secretary Miguel Cardona said. One out of every 10 federal student loan borrowers approved for debt relief means one out of every 10 borrowers now has financial breathing room and a burden lifted.
Biden has continually forgiven student loan debt for many borrowers during his presidency. While his widespread debt relief plan failed, he has provided forgiveness through fixes to existing debt forgiveness programs like IDR, PSLF, borrower defense, and Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge.
ED recently pushed back the timeline to benefit from the IDR account adjustment. Previously, borrowers needed to consolidate their loans by April 30 to qualify, but now borrowers have until June 30, 2024.