Wednesday, May 22, the Biden-Harris administration announced the approval of $7.7 billion in additional student loan relief debt for 160,000 borrowers across the U.S.

These discharges are for three categories of borrowers: those receiving Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF); those who signed up for President Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan and who are eligible for its shortened time-to-forgiveness benefit; and those receiving forgiveness on income-driven repayment (IDR) as a result of fixes made by the Administration. This action comes as more than 8 million borrowers have been helped by the SAVE Plan. That includes 4.6 million with a $0 monthly payment.

This brings the total loan forgiveness to $167 billion for 4.75 million Americans. More than one of every 10 federal student loan borrowers has been approved for some debt relief.

“The Biden-Harris Administration remains persistent about our efforts to bring student debt relief to millions more across the country, and this announcement proves it,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “One out of every 10 federal student loan borrowers approved for debt relief means one out of every 10 borrowers now has financial breathing room and a burden lifted.”

The relief announced this week is broken down into three categories:

• $5.2 billion for 66,900 borrowers through fixes to PSLF. This makes a total of $68 billion for more than 942,000 PSLF borrowers.
• $613 million for 54,300 borrowers through the SAVE Plan. This relief is for borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan with smaller loans for postsecondary studies. This brings the total to $5.5 billion for 414,000 borrowers.
• $1.9 billion for 39,200 borrowers through administrative adjustments to IDR payment counts. This brings the total to $51 billion in IDR relief for more than 1 million borrowers.

Eligible borrowers have already begun receiving notification of their approvals. Their relief will be processed in the following weeks.

In Mississippi, 9,310 borrowers owing $804 million in PSLF will be helped, and 17,720 borrowers owing $675.2 million will receive aid for IDRA and SAVE forgiveness.