616K public employees received student loan forgiveness due to Biden’s relaxed rules.

Over 600,000 Public-Sector Employees Receive Student Loan Forgiveness Under Biden Administration

What You Need to Know:

• 616,000 public-sector employees have had their student loan debts forgiven since October of 2021
• The U.S. Department of Education announced that $42 billion worth of loans have been forgiven under the Biden-era Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program
• The temporary Biden-era PSLF rules allowed for previously ineligible loan types and payment plans to count toward the 10 years of loan payments needed to qualify for full loan forgiveness
• Only about 7,000 public sector employees had qualified for loan forgiveness under the PSLF program prior to the Biden administration’s rule change

Under the normal policies, the PSLF program allows for the forgiveness of all student loans after a 10-year period of qualifying public sector employment. However, the Biden administration temporarily loosened the rules on the PSLF program, allowing for more public-sector employees to qualify for loan forgiveness. This has resulted in over 600,000 public-sector employees having their student loan debts forgiven since October of 2021.

The U.S. Department of Education announced that $42 billion worth of loans have been forgiven under the Biden-era PSLF rules, with each of the nearly 616,000 public-sector employees involved receiving around $68,000 worth of loans forgiven. The temporary rules allowed public sector employees until October of 2022 to apply for a PSLF waiver.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona credited the Biden administration with working to “fix a broken student loan system,” including through its temporary changes to the PSLF program. In addition to the $42 billion in student aid through the temporary PSLF eligibility rules, the administration has taken credit for $66 billion in targeted loan relief to approximately 2.2 million borrowers.

The Biden administration’s efforts to wipe out student loan debt have been a significant step towards a better and stronger PSLF program. 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.