Robert Brown|Biden administration forgives another $1.2 billion in student loans. Here's who qualifies.

Navigating student loan relief

The Biden administration on Thursday said it is forgiving $1.2 billion in student debt for 35,000 borrowers who work in public service, ranging from teachers to firefighters. The announcement marks the latest round in government loan relief after the Supreme Court last year blocked President Joe Biden's plan for broad-based college loan forgiveness. 

With the latest student loan forgiveness, the Biden administration said it has waived $168.5 billion in debt for roughly 4.8 million Americans, according to a statement from the Department of Education. That represents about 1 in 10 student loan borrowers, it added. 

The people who qualify for forgiveness in the latest round of debt cancellation are part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which is designed to help public servants such as teachers, nurses and law enforcement officers get their debt canceled after 10 years of repayments. While PSLF has been around since 2007, until recently very few borrowers were able to get debt relief due to its notoriously complex regulations and often misleading guidance from loan companies. 

But the Biden administration has overhauled the program's rules, enabling more public servants to qualify for forgiveness. 

"The additional Americans approved for PSLF today are hardworking public servants who will finally receive the financial breathing room they were promised — and all PSLF recipients can easily track and manage the process through StudentAid.gov," U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in the statement. 

Who qualifies for loan forgiveness? 

The Biden administration said borrowers receiving student loan relief in this latest round are people enrolled in the PSLF program through a limited waiver, as well as regulatory changes made by the administration. 

The "limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness waiver" was designed by the Biden administration to allow public-sector workers to apply to receive credit for past repayments that hadn't previously qualified for loan relief. The deadline for signing up for the waiver was October 2022.

"These 35,000 borrowers approved for forgiveness today are public service workers — teachers, nurses, law enforcement officials and first responders who have dedicated their lives to strengthening their communities," President Joe Biden said in a statement. [B]ecause of the fixes we made to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, they will now have more breathing room to support themselves and their families."

Is the Biden administration planning more debt forgiveness? 

Yes, the Biden administration said it continues to work on a plan for broad-based student loan relief through the Higher Education Act. 

Some parts of the Biden administration's plans to provide more relief were thrown into turmoil last month when two courts issued temporary injunctions against the Biden administration's flagship student loan repayment plan, called the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, which currently has about 8 million enrollees.

Despite the injunctions, student borrowers can still continue to enroll in the program, according to the Education Department. 

In:
• Biden Administration
• Student Debt
• Student Loans

Aimee Picchi

Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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