EDUCATION
Who has benefited from Biden’s latest $7.4 billion in student debt forgiveness?
A fresh plan for student debt cancellation would help 277,000 Americans, though the outstanding issue of runaway student debt has not yet been resolved.
President Biden announced further student debt cancellation for an additional 277,000 borrowers, bringing the total to 4.3 million Americans who received $153 billion in debt relief under his administration. However, this is just a fraction of the $1.7 trillion student debt bubble.
The latest round of student debt forgiveness announced by President Biden targets three main groups of borrowers:
SAVE plan participants are a crucial part of the latest debt forgiveness. This group benefits from a new, income-driven repayment plan launched by the Biden administration. The SAVE plan offers the most affordable option yet, with 4.5 million borrowers already seeing their monthly payments reduced to $0 and over 1 million more having monthly payments under $100. Additionally, for those with lower loan balances, the SAVE plan expedites debt relief after ten years of on-time payments.
Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) enrollees encompasses borrowers already participating in existing income-driven repayment plans. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) recipients consists of public service workers like teachers, firefighters, and nurses who qualify for debt forgiveness after ten years of qualifying payments. The Biden administration has reportedly taken steps to deal with past issues with PSLF, making it easier for public service workers to access this benefit.
Beyond the latest debt forgiveness
It’s important to note that this recent announcement adds to a broader effort by the Biden administration to address student loan debt.
Nearly 900,000 public service workers have received debt forgiveness under the Biden administration. Over 1.3 million borrowers who were defrauded by their schools or covered by related court settlements have seen their debt cancelled. Almost 550,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabilities, including many veterans, have benefited from debt cancellation.