Since the announcement of the student debt forgiveness plan, many Americans have been asking, when will the forgiveness take effect? Due to a recent lawsuit, it appears that date is slated around October 17th.
Six republican-led states are suing the Biden-Harris administration, declaring his student loan forgiveness plan as unconstitutional. A hearing for the suit will be held next Wednesday.
Announced in August, Biden’s three-part plan will cancel thousands of dollars of student debt for low- to middle-income borrowers. The Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients with loans held by the Department of Education, and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. To quality for relief, single borrowers must earn $125,000 or less while married couples have to earn $250,00 or less.
But Republicans believe the student loan relief efforts are handouts to people who don’t need it. The plaintiffs also assert that Biden is overstepping his authority in taking such sweeping action without the assent of Congress. Several lawsuits have already been filed against Biden and the Department of Education by Republican and Libertarian lawmakers.
However, Biden is up for the fight against conservatives. In a recent speech, he responded to the Republicans fierce attempts to challenge his relief efforts. “I know I’m being banged up by the Republicans, but come — bring it on. We can afford to cancel $10,000 in student debt and 20,000 bucks if you had a Pell Grant — (applause) — for Americans making under 125 grand.”, the 46th president noted.
To further ease the financial burden for borrowers, the Biden-Harris Administration had announced several student loans repayment extensions since January 2021. This pause is to help borrowers tend to more urgent livelihood needs and relieve stress. Currently all federal student loan repayments are paused until December 31st and are resuming in January 2023.
How to Apply
An online form should be available by or around Oct 17th.
Step 1: Check if you’re eligible
You’re eligible for student loan debt relief if your annual federal income was below $125,000 (individual or married, filing separately) or $250,000 (married, filing jointly or head of household) in 2020 or 2021.
- $20,000 in debt relief: If you received a Pell Grant in college and meet the income threshold, you’ll be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt relief.
- $10,000 in debt relief: If you did not receive a Pell Grant in college and meet the income threshold, you’ll be eligible for up to $10,000 in debt relief.
Step 2: Prepare
- Log in to your account on StudentAid.gov and make sure your contact info is up to date.
- If you don’t have a StudentAid.gov account (FSA ID), you should create an account to help you manage your loans.
- Make sure your loan servicer has your most current contact information so they can reach you. If you don’t know who your servicer is, you can log in to StudentAid.gov and see your servicer(s) in your account dashboard.
Step 3: Submit Your Application (when its available).
The application should be available in two weeks.
You’ll have until Dec. 31, 2023, to submit your application.
Visit the Federal Student Aid site for updates.