Douglas Olsen
During his four-year administration, President Joe Biden oversaw the cancellation of $183.6 billion in student loans for over five million borrowers. This was done through existing federal student loan forgiveness programs, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) forgiveness, and Teacher Loan Forgiveness, as well as through new initiatives like the SAVE plan. Despite this, Biden's student loan forgiveness plan faced legal challenges and criticism from Republicans, who argued that taxpayers should not bear the burden of loan cancellation. With the change in administration, it remains to be seen whether Biden's student loan forgiveness policies will continue or if borrowers will need to explore other options to manage their debt.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Total student debt paid off by Biden | $183.6 billion |
| Number of people Biden paid off student debt for | 5 million |
| Amount of student debt paid off for borrowers with disabilities | $5.8 billion |
| Number of borrowers with disabilities whose student debt was paid off | 323,000 |
| Number of public servants who had their student debt paid off | 1 million |
| Number of public service workers who had their student debt paid off | 800,000 |
| Number of borrowers who had their student debt paid off through the SAVE plan | 153,000 |
| Total student debt paid off through the SAVE plan | $138 billion |
| Number of borrowers who had their student debt paid off through borrower defence | 633,000 |
| Total student debt paid off through borrower defence | $18.7 billion |
| Number of borrowers who had their student debt paid off through IDR | 1.4 million |
| Total student debt paid off through IDR | $56.5 billion |
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What You'll Learn
Student loan forgiveness
During his four-year administration, President Joe Biden oversaw the cancellation of $183.6 billion in student loans for over five million borrowers. This was achieved through various programs, including Income-Driven Repayment (IDR), Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), and borrower defence. IDR forgiveness, for instance, forgives remaining student debt after 20 or 25 years of payments on an income-driven repayment plan. Similarly, PSLF forgives remaining student debt after 10 years of payments and full-time work for a qualifying nonprofit employer.
Biden's administration also implemented the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan, which provides debt forgiveness to borrowers who have been in repayment for at least 10 years and took out $12,000 or less in student loans. However, the SAVE plan has faced legal challenges, with federal courts deeming it unlawful and blocking parts of it.
Despite the cancellation of billions of dollars in student loans, Biden's broader student loan forgiveness plan did not come to fruition. There was strong opposition to his plan, with critics arguing it was overreaching, unlawful, and unconstitutional. Legal challenges arose, and the Supreme Court rejected Biden's proposal for a new forgiveness policy.
Even with the setbacks, Biden's administration made significant strides in providing student loan relief to millions of Americans. The expansion of existing programs and the creation of new initiatives, such as the SAVE plan, helped alleviate the burden of student debt for many borrowers.
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IDR waiver program
During his four-year administration, President Joe Biden forgave $183.6 billion in student loans for five million people. This included $56.5 billion for more than 1.4 million borrowers through income-driven repayment, including the SAVE plan and the IDR waiver. The IDR waiver program, also known as the IDR account adjustment, was a one-time payment recount that forgave longtime borrowers' debt. It was introduced in 2022 to address past issues in the IDR and PSLF programs, such as miscounted payments and unnecessary forbearances.
The IDR waiver program expanded assistance to a larger group of borrowers and repayment statuses. It allowed all borrowers to receive credit toward IDR forgiveness for any repayment plan, as well as qualifying forbearance periods and some types of deferment. This included borrowers with commercially-held debt with the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL), who needed to consolidate to qualify. All Direct Loan program borrowers, including graduate and Parent PLUS Loan holders, received at least three years of credit toward forgiveness.
The IDR waiver program was initially announced in October 2021 and expired at the end of October 2022. It was unexpectedly extended on May 15, 2024, after its theoretical expiration on April 30, 2024, but it ended for good on June 30, 2024. As of January 16, 2025, 1.45 million student loan borrowers received forgiveness through the one-time IDR account adjustment.
While Biden's plan faced legal challenges and criticism for being overreaching and unconstitutional, it provided significant benefits to millions of borrowers. It is important to note that, even without the IDR waiver program, borrowers can still qualify for existing federal student loan forgiveness programs, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Teacher Loan Forgiveness, and Borrower Defense to Repayment.
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SAVE repayment plan
During his tenure in the White House, President Joe Biden forgave $183.6 billion in student loans for five million people. This included $5.8 billion in student loan debt for 323,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabilities. However, Biden's forgiveness plan was met with legal challenges and criticism, and it is unclear if it will be carried forward.
The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan is an income-driven repayment plan for student loans. It was rolled out by the Education Department in August 2023, replacing the previous REPAYE plan. SAVE caps borrowers' monthly federal student loan bills at a portion of their income, specifically 5% of discretionary income for undergraduate loans. This is a more generous offer than other IDR plans, which require borrowers to pay a minimum of 10% of their discretionary income. For borrowers with both undergraduate and graduate loans, the repayment amount is a weighted average between 5% and 10%.
The SAVE plan also reduces the time it takes to qualify for forgiveness of the remaining student loan balance. Under current IDR plans, borrowers are eligible for forgiveness after 20 or 25 years. However, the SAVE plan cuts this down to 10 years for borrowers with principal loan balances of $12,000 or less for undergraduate or graduate study.
For borrowers earning less than $32,800 individually or less than $67,500 for a family of four, the SAVE plan offers $0 monthly payments. As of July 2024, nearly 8 million borrowers were enrolled in the SAVE plan, with 4.5 million qualifying for $0 payments.
However, the SAVE plan has faced legal challenges, with Republican-led states filing lawsuits that forced the Education Department to temporarily suspend the plan. As a result, SAVE borrowers are in an indefinite payment pause, but interest will start accruing from August 1, 2025. While the legal situation is being sorted out, SAVE borrowers are in administrative forbearance, and they do not receive credit toward IDR forgiveness or Public Service Loan Forgiveness during this period.
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Public Service Loan Forgiveness
During his presidential term, Joe Biden forgave $183.6 billion in student loans for five million people. This included $56.5 billion for more than 1.4 million borrowers through income-driven repayment, $29.9 billion for 1.7 million borrowers eligible for borrower defence or closed school discharges, and $18.7 billion for 633,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabilities.
One of Biden's plans to forgive student loan debt is through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. This program was established by Congress in 2007 through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. PSLF allows for outstanding federal student loan balances to be forgiven for public service workers who have completed 10 years of full-time service and made qualifying monthly payments on their loans for 120 months.
In October 2021, the Biden-Harris administration made significant improvements to the PSLF program, including granting temporary waivers to provide borrowers with the opportunity to receive credit for past periods of repayment, improving the process to certify employment, rewriting program regulations to simplify eligibility requirements, and simplifying the application process with electronic signatures. As of October 2024, over 1 million public service workers have had their debt discharged via PSLF and Temporary Extended PSLF, providing over $73.7 billion in debt relief to support essential workers.
Despite these efforts, there is still opposition to Biden's student loan forgiveness plans. Some argue that his plan is overreaching and unconstitutional, and there is a chance it will be legally challenged in court. Additionally, there is uncertainty about the future of student loan forgiveness, as it is unclear whether Biden will forgive student loans by the end of his term or if it will be decided in court.
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Borrower defense
The Biden administration has taken several steps to provide student loan relief to borrowers, including those who have been defrauded or misled by their schools. One notable initiative is the Borrower Defense to Repayment program, which was established under the Obama administration in 2016. This program allows borrowers who were defrauded or misled by their schools to receive federal student loan forgiveness.
During his time in office, Biden forgave $183.6 billion in student loans for five million people. This included $29.9 billion for 1.7 million borrowers eligible for borrower defense or closed school discharges. The Biden administration has also worked to expand relief under the Borrower Defense to Repayment program, announcing $500 million in additional student loan forgiveness for 18,000 former students of ITT schools, which abruptly shut down in 2016 due to investigations into potential widespread wrongdoing.
The Borrower Defense to Repayment program has been at the centre of political and legal battles since 2017. The Biden administration has taken steps to reverse Trump-era policies that limited relief under this program, including eliminating the "partial relief" policy, which often left borrowers with minimal levels of actual loan forgiveness. Instead, borrowers with approved Borrower Defense claims can now receive complete student loan forgiveness for approved claims, along with refunds for payments already made.
The Biden administration's efforts to expand the Borrower Defense to Repayment program are part of a broader initiative to overhaul key federal student loan programs. This includes reviewing other loan forgiveness programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Closed-School Discharges. While the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness initiatives have faced legal challenges, they have provided significant relief to borrowers who were defrauded or misled by their schools.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Biden's administration oversaw the cancellation of student loans for over 5 million Americans, amounting to \$183.6 billion in student debt forgiveness.
Biden's administration expanded pre-existing student loan forgiveness programs and used them to their fullest extent. This included the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, the IDR waiver program, and borrower defense.
The SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) plan is a student loan repayment plan introduced by the Biden-Harris administration. It provides debt forgiveness to borrowers who have been in repayment for at least 10 years and took out $12,000 or less in student loans.
Biden's student loan forgiveness plan has faced legal challenges, with some arguing that it is unconstitutional and should be decided by Congress. As of January 2025, Biden's plan B is off the table, and it is unclear if he will continue to pursue student loan forgiveness.
