The U.S. Department of Education has approved over $42 billion in Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for more than 615,000 borrowers since October 2021, a recent Education press release said.
This significant increase in approvals is attributed to temporary changes made by the Biden-Harris administration to facilitate easier forgiveness access. The previous administration had only approved approximately 7,000 borrowers for the PSLF program.
Alongside this achievement, the Education Department has also implemented improvements to the PSLF Help Tool, allowing borrowers to complete the entire application process online and eliminating the need for faxing or mailing documents.
"The difference that Public Service Loan Forgiveness is making in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans reminds us why we must continue doing everything we can to fight for borrowers and why families cannot afford to have progress derailed by partisan politicians," U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in the release.
The improvements align with the Biden-Harris administration's long-term plans to enhance the PSLF program which are set to take effect in July 2023 and provide lasting benefits to borrowers, the release said. Cardona expressed the administration's commitment to fixing the student loan system and fulfilling the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness for public servants who have served their communities and the nation.
The PSLF program, which is established by law, supports public employees, teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers and nonprofit workers by forgiving their remaining federal student loan balance after making 120 qualifying monthly payments; the release said. The department's efforts to enhance access to this targeted debt relief have benefited borrowers nationwide. Of the nearly 616,000 borrowers whose loans have been approved for forgiveness, almost 610,000 have already had their loans discharged, with the rest expected to follow suit. Additionally, more than 2 million borrowers have an approved PSLF Form and are on track for loan forgiveness. As awareness of the PSLF program grows, more public service employees are applying.
The recent approvals for loan forgiveness come as part of the Biden-Harris administration's comprehensive efforts to support students and provide targeted relief, the release said. With more than $66 billion in targeted loan relief distributed to nearly 2.2 million borrowers thus far, the administration has taken actions such as establishing a fair bankruptcy discharge process, providing relief for disabled borrowers, and granting borrower defense claims for those deceived by their schools. Additionally, significant loan discharges have been provided to borrowers affected by the closure of ITT Technical Institute.
