Student loan forgiveness: 277,000 people, including 4,030 Alabamians, now qualify for debt relief

Some 277,000 borrowers will see some $7.4 billion student loan debt canceled, the White House announced Friday. The figures include 4,030 Alabamians who qualify for the latest round of debt forgiveness.

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Borrowers receiving relief in this effort include those enrolled in the SAVE Plan, Income-Driven Repayment plans and under Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The plans target specific groups, including public sector workers, lowering monthly payments and making it easier to qualify for loan forgiveness. Currently, some 8 million borrowers are enrolled in SAVE, the newest program, with 4.5 million having no monthly payment and an additional 1 million with payments of less than $100.

The plan reinforces the White House’s “commitment to using every path available to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible through various actions,” the administration said in a statement.

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The announcement comes on the heels of the unveiling of Biden’s latest large-scale student loan forgiveness plan that would cover an additional 30 million people. Earlier efforts that would have wiped out debt for 40 million borrowers were struck down by the Supreme Court.

Since Biden took office, the administration has approved more than $153 billion in debt forgiveness for 4.3 million Americans.