The Biden-Harris administration just announced another wave of student loan debt relief for borrowers in the PSLF program.
On Friday, the Biden-Harris administration announced another $4.28 billion in student loan forgiveness for nearly 55,000 borrowers in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The latest debt cancellation news comes after years of challenges for the PSLF, recent payment pauses and legal disputes over student loan forgiveness.
This wave of student loan debt relief is a result of improvement the Department of Education made over the last few years to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
PSLF offers student loan forgiveness to teachers, nurses and other public service workers who have worked a qualifying job for ten years or more. After making 120 qualifying payments, PSLF borrowers can have their remaining balances wiped out.Â
The latest numbers bring the Biden administration's total federal student debt relief amount to $78 billion for 1 million PSLF borrowers and $180 billion for nearly five million student loan borrowers.Â
Read more:Â Here's What a Second Trump Term Means for Inflation, Taxes and Student Loans
What's next for student debt relief?
Two Biden administration student loan initiatives remain tied up in the courts. The Saving on a Valuable Education repayment plan is currently on hold pending a final court ruling, and borrower payments have been paused. The Biden administration's second attempt at widespread student loan forgiveness also remains on hold.
"We don't expect the Trump administration to pursue the legal battle to maintain SAVE or authorize broad forgiveness," Elaine Rubin, a student loan policy expert for Edvisors, told CNET earlier this month. "Should SAVE be overturned in court, the Biden administration would likely lack sufficient time to appeal or advance the legal dispute successfully."
The fate of student debt relief programs is unclear as we head into the new year. President-elect Donald Trump's administration will take office on Jan. 20, 2025, and most experts do not expect his team to continue to fight for student debt relief.
For now, it's a waiting game to see what the new administration might propose and how the courts will rule on SAVE and Biden's second forgiveness initiative. However, there are some steps you can take to plan ahead in case either proposal is rejected by the courts.
Rubin suggests that borrowers enrolled in SAVE plan for payments to resume and explore other income-driven repayment plans in case SAVE is eliminated. If you're enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and are close to reaching your 120 payment mark, she recommends looking into the PSLF buyback program to see if it will allow you to receive forgiveness sooner.
