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The White House announced that nearly 153,000 people who have outstanding student loan debt will have their loans forgiven. To cancel an additional $1.2 billion in federal student loans, the Biden administration created a new policy for those enrolled in the Savings on Valuable Education policy that cancels debt for borrowers who have been in repayment for at least ten years and owe $12,000 or less in student loans.
Those who owe more than $12,000 will be eligible to have their debts forgiven after an additional year of payments for every $1,000 they owe.
Those eligible for the debt relief will receive an email on Wednesday (February 21) with details. They will not have to take any additional action to have their loans forgiven.
The debt forgiveness was supposed to begin in July, but officials decided to start forgiving loans early.
"This relief has given borrowers critical breathing room in their daily lives, allowing them to afford other expenses, buy homes, start businesses, or pursue dreams they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt," the White House said in a statement.
Since taking office, the Biden administration has canceled $138 billion of federal student loan debt for nearly 3.9 million borrowers.