Student-debt cancellation coming for public servants, Biden administration says

Source: MarketWatch

Published: Dec. 20, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. ET


Tens of thousands of public servants will have $4.28 billion in student debt cancelled, the Biden administration announced Friday.

The loan forgiveness for 55,000 borrowers is the latest round of debt cancellation in yearslong effort by the Biden administration to streamline debt-relief programs that pre-date President Joe Biden’s time in office.

The group of borrowers eligible for the relief announced Friday are part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The initiative, signed into law in 2007, allows borrowers working for the government and certain nonprofits to have their federal student loans wiped out after 10 years of payments. For years, PSLF was notoriously hard to access even for borrowers who appeared to qualify. In 2021, the Biden administration took steps to eliminate paperwork and other technical challenges that had stymied borrowers’ paths to relief.

“From Day One of my administration, I promised to make sure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement announcing the debt cancellation. “Because of our actions, millions of people across the country now have the breathing room to start businesses, save for retirement and pursue life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student-loan debt.”

Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/student-debt-cancellation-coming-for-public-servants-biden-administration-says-3a5c8a28