Education said that since changes made in 2022, total relief through the program now exceeds $57 billion for nearly 800,000 borrowers. Image: Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Shutterstock.com
The Education Department has announced that recent changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program will result in an additional 44,000 borrowers qualifying for some $3.2 billion in relief.
The program aims to incentivize people to enter public service by providing loan forgiveness after making 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan, while working full-time for government at the federal, state, local, or tribal level. The announcement did not specify a breakdown among categories of those who stand to benefit from the changes, which involve income-related policies.
The PSLF is separate from one in which federal agencies may reimburse employees up to $10,000 a year with a $60,000 lifetime maximum for student loan costs as a recruitment and retention incentive.
The action is the latest in a series of Biden administration steps to widen loan relief under the program. In 2021 the department took steps including simplifying the application process; creating a now-expired waiver period so that borrowers could count payments from all federal loan programs or repayment plans toward forgiveness; correcting errors that may have led to denials; and boosting efforts to inform potentially eligible people of the program and encourage them to apply.
“The nearly $5 billion in additional debt relief announced today will go to teachers, social workers, and other public servants whose service to our communities have earned them Public Service Loan Forgiveness, as well as borrowers qualifying for income-driven repayment forgiveness because their payments are for the first time being accurately accounted for,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
$4.9 billion in additional student loan debt relief for 73,600 borrowers was approved, and of that, $3.2 billion will go to 43,900 borrowers through PSLF. The department said that includes borrowers that took part in the PSLF waiver.
The department in 2022 made further changes including to allow more payments to qualify for PSLF; allow certain kinds of deferments and forbearances to count toward PSLF; and to create a reconsideration process for borrowers whose applications are denied.
The latest announcement said that since those first steps, total relief through the program now exceeds $57 billion for nearly 800,000 borrowers.
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