How to get biden student loan forgiveness?
It's important to understand that there's no single "Biden student loan forgiveness" program that everyone can apply for. Instead, there are multiple targeted initiatives:
What's actually working right now: - IDR Account Adjustment: This is huge! The Education Department is counting more past payment periods toward forgiveness, including some periods that didn't qualify before. Many people are getting surprise forgiveness letters because of this.
- SAVE Plan: This is the newest income-driven plan with the most generous terms. Payments can be as low as $0/month for low-income borrowers, and unpaid interest doesn't accumulate.
Steps to take: 1. Log into your studentaid.gov account and make sure your servicer has your current income information 2. Apply for the SAVE plan - it's automatic for many existing IDR borrowers but better to confirm 3. Check if you qualify for PSLF if you work in public service 4. Look into the IDR adjustment to see if you're close to 20-25 year forgiveness
The key is to act soon because some of these programs have deadlines. I help people with student loans professionally, and I've seen dozens of clients get significant relief through these programs - one teacher just had $68,000 forgiven through PSLF last month!
Let me give you the real talk from someone who's been navigating this system for months. The student loan landscape is confusing, but here's what's actually happening:
The big widespread forgiveness that would have helped 40 million people got killed by the Supreme Court. That ship has sailed.
WHAT'S STILL ACTIVE AND WORKING:
1. SAVE Plan - This is your best bet right now. I applied and my payment went from $385 to $147 monthly. Even better: if you have undergraduate loans and your original balance was $12k or less, you could get forgiveness after just 10 years!
2. PSLF Improvements - They've fixed a lot of the problems with this program. If you work for government or non-profits, you should definitely look into this. I know three people who've gotten six-figure debts wiped clean through PSLF recently.
3. Borrower Defense - If you went to a shady for-profit school (like ITT Tech or Corinthian), you might qualify for full discharge.
Beware of scams! So many companies are charging people for "Biden forgiveness" help - you can do everything yourself for FREE at studentaid.gov. Don't pay anyone to help you with this!
The process can be frustrating - I spent hours on hold with my servicer - but persistence pays off. Keep records of everything and don't give up!
The Biden administration's student loan forgiveness efforts have been through quite a rollercoaster, but here's the current status as of 2024:
What's currently available: 1. SAVE Plan - This income-driven repayment plan can significantly reduce monthly payments and potentially lead to forgiveness after 20-25 years of payments 2. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) - Expanded eligibility and temporary waivers have made it easier for government and nonprofit employees to get forgiveness 3. Borrower Defense to Repayment - For borrowers defrauded by their schools 4. Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge 5. Closed School Discharge - If your school closed while you were enrolled
The mass forgiveness that was blocked: The $400 billion broad forgiveness program was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2023, so that's no longer an option.
My advice: Focus on the SAVE plan if you have federal loans. The application is at student aid.gov and it takes about 10 minutes. I recently enrolled and my monthly payment dropped by 60%!