The Biden-Harris Administration has extended the deadline for student borrowers to apply for loan consolidation, giving them until June 30 to do so. This extension comes as part of an update on the timing of the payment count adjustment, a mechanism designed to ensure that borrowers receive proper credit for progress made toward income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

The payment count adjustment is expected to be fully implemented by September 2024. Once in place, borrowers with Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans held by the U.S. Department of Education will see a full and accurate count of their progress toward loan forgiveness.

"The Department is working swiftly to ensure borrowers get credit for every month they’ve rightfully earned toward forgiveness," said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. "FFEL borrowers should consolidate as soon as possible in order to receive this benefit that has already provided forgiveness to nearly 1 million borrowers."

The payment count adjustment was first announced in April 2022 in response to evidence suggesting that many borrowers did not have a proper accounting of their time to forgiveness under IDR plans. The Department has since been identifying eligible borrowers and automatically discharging those whose updated payment counts qualify them for forgiveness.

In total, the Department has approved $49.2 billion in forgiveness for more than 996,000 borrowers. This figure does not include those who received PSLF at least partially due to the account adjustment.

Despite these strides, the Department acknowledges that there is still work to be done. Changes are currently being implemented that will provide all borrowers with an accurate count of their payments, with completion expected in September 2024.

To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved almost $160 billion in relief for nearly 4.6 million borrowers through various programs and initiatives.