Biden is forgiving another $1.2 billion in student loan debt

By Nadra Nittle

Originally published by The 19th

President Joe Biden is slated to announce Wednesday during his fundraising trip to Los Angeles that his administration will cancel another $1.2 billion in student loan debt — this time for about 153,000 borrowers. All of them have been approved for the shortened repayment period benefit under the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan.

These borrowers will start getting emails from the Biden administration as early as Wednesday informing them that they will receive debt forgiveness. They don’t need to take any further action to get their relief. As loan servicers process their forgiveness, they will see their debts discharged from their accounts.  

To qualify for the reduced time to forgiveness benefit, borrowers must have signed up for the SAVE Plan, made at least a decade of payments and taken out initial student loan balances of $12,000 or less. The Department of Education noted that for every $1,000 taken out over $12,000, borrowers can obtain relief after an additional year of payments.

“The people getting the debt relief announced today have sacrificed and saved for a decade or more to make their student loan payments, have lower loan balances and are more likely to have qualified for Pell grants to attend college,” said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona during a call with reporters Tuesday. “Many SAVE forgiveness recipients come from lower- and middle-income backgrounds. Many took out loans to attend community colleges. Some were at higher risk for delinquency and default. That's why the actions we're announcing today do matter.”