Administration Announces Another $7.7 Billion in Approved Student Debt Relief

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced the approval of $7.7 billion for borrowers receiving Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), those who signed up for Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, and those receiving forgiveness on income-driven repayment (IDR) due to fixes made by the administration.

James KvaalThe U.S. Department of Education also announced an update on the timing of the payment count adjustment, an administrative fix to ensure borrowers get credit for progress borrowers made toward IDR forgiveness and PSLF. Borrowers who would benefit from consolidating have until June 30 to apply to consolidate. Borrowers can find out more about the payment count adjustment at studentaid.gov.

To date, the administration has approved $167 billion in relief for 4.75 million borrowers nationwide. The new debt relief is as follows:

· PSLF: $5.2 billion relief for 66,900 borrowers, bringing total approved forgiveness to $68 billion for more than 942,000 borrowers.

· SAVE Plan: $613 million in relief for 54,300 borrowers, bringing relief to a total 414,000 borrowers at $5.5 billion.

· IDR: $1.9 billion for 39,200 borrowers, adding up to $51.0 billion in approved relief for more than 1 million borrowers.

U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said this latest relief means “another 160,000 borrowers and their families will get some much-needed relief thanks to the continued efforts the Biden-Harris Administration to fix the broken student loan system.”

The relief provided by the discharges, with other actions taken by the administration, could boost short-term consumption and have positive effects on borrower mental health, financial security, and outcomes such as homeownership and entrepreneurship, according to officials at ED, citing a recent report by the Council of Economic Advisers.