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The Biden administration announced on Thursday (October 17) that it will forgive approximately $4.5 billion in student debt for over 60,000 public sector employees. This latest wave of student loan forgiveness is part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), which is designed to provide debt relief for public servants such as teachers, nurses, social workers, first responders, and service members who have made ten years of payments.
The PSLF was created in 2007 and has been criticized for its lengthy delays and challenges for borrowers to complete. However, the Biden administration has made improvements to the program, including a temporary waiver in 2022 that allowed some borrowers to get credit for previously ineligible periods.
The latest round of forgiveness brings the total amount of student debt canceled under President Biden to more than $175 billion for nearly 5 million people, which is about 11% of all outstanding federal student debt. The relief also involves borrowers who enrolled in a temporary waiver under PSLF in 2022 and others who benefitted from unspecified “improvements” made to the program earlier this year.
It is not immediately clear whether eligible borrowers will be notified about their debt relief, though the Education Department has previously said borrowers whose loans were forgiven don’t need to take additional steps to receive their relief.
The announcement comes as the Biden administration continues to face criticism for not doing enough to address the student debt crisis. However, the administration maintains that it is committed to providing relief for borrowers and improving the PSLF program.