Borrowers with smaller student loan debt could get relief automatically, as soon as February.
You could have your student loan debt wiped out as soon as next month, if you borrowed less than $12,000 in federal student loans and have been in repayment for at least 10 years.
The Department of Education will begin canceling student loan debt for some borrowers enrolled in the Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (aka SAVE) plan starting in February, almost four years after then-presidential candidate Joe Biden proposed a plan for broad student loan forgiveness. SAVE is the newest of four income-driven repayment plans available to federal student loan borrowers.
The implementation of the plan to forgive smaller borrowers comes six months ahead of schedule, Biden said in a statement Friday morning, adding «this action will particularly help community college borrowers, low-income borrowers and those struggling to repay their loans.»
The Education Department paused student loan repayments and interest through the pandemic and restarted payments in fall 2023. The administration’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans for all borrowers was knocked down by a Supreme Court ruling last summer.
