Biden Administration Announces $39 Billion in Student-Loan Forgiveness for Over 800,000 Borrowers

The Biden administration announced Friday that it would forgive $39 billion in student loans for 804,000 borrowers, explaining it had pursued certain fixes to existing income-driven-repayment plans.

“For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a written statement.

These income-driven plans set a forgiveness threshold of 20 or 25 years. Borrowers must make payments that qualify over this period — payments that can be as low as $0 based on an individual’s income and family situation.

“By fixing past administrative failures, we are ensuring everyone gets the forgiveness they deserve, just as we have done for public servants, students who were cheated by their colleges, and borrowers with permanent disabilities, including veterans,” said Cardona. “This Administration will not stop fighting to level the playing field in higher education.”