Biden Forgives Another $1.2 Billion in Student Loans
Katherine Knott
February 22, 2024
More than 150,000 borrowers will have their student loans automatically discharged this month, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.
This tranche of debt relief, which totals $1.2 billion, comes after the Education Department moved up its implementation timeline for the new income-driven repayment plan known as Saving on a Valuable Education. The plan offers loan forgiveness after 10 years to borrowers who took out $12,000 or less. Typical income-driven repayment plans discharge loans after 20 or 25 years.
The quicker pathway to cancellation was initially supposed to take effect July 1, but the department decided last month to implement it early. Since the department began rolling out SAVE last summer, 7.5 million borrowers have signed up for the plan, and 4.3 million now have a zero-dollar monthly payment.
