President Joe Biden announced this week that his administration has signed off on $9 billion in student loan debt forgiveness for 125,000 people across the United States.
“By freeing millions of Americans from the crushing burden of student debt, it means they can go and get their lives in order,” Biden said in remarks at the White House on Wednesday.
Under Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs, more than $5.2 billion in debt relief will go to 53,000 borrowers which cover people who worked in public service for a decade or more and made 120 qualifying payments. (The White House says eligible borrowers include people who worked for federal, state, local or tribal governments, or a nonprofit group.)
Around $2.8 billion in relief will go to almost 51,000 borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans, which apply to people who made at least 20 years of payments but “never got the relief they were entitled to,” the White House said in a news release.
The remaining $1.2 billion will benefit almost 22,000 borrowers who have a “total or permanent” disability.