The Biden administration said on Wednesday that it would forgive $1.2 billion in student debt for nearly 153,000 borrowers enrolled its new repayment plan, called The Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE plan.
The relief will go to borrowers who have been in repayment for a decade or longer, and originally took out $12,000 or less.
Borrowers usually get debt forgiveness under income-driven repayment plans, including SAVE, after 20 or 25 years of payments. But under the SAVE plan, those who borrowed less can get their debt canceled after just a decade.
In January, the Biden administration said it would soon start to forgive the debt of these borrowers who had signed up for its new plan.
“With today’s announcement, we are once again sending a clear message to borrowers who had low balances: if you’ve been paying for a decade, you’ve done your part, and you deserve relief,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
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