by Ashley Hawkes

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have announced that from mid-October to December 31, an application will be available for those in need of student loan forgiveness. After completing the application, up to $20,000 worth of forgiveness will be offered to working and middle-class students who are in need of aid.

Concerning the need for student loan forgiveness, President Biden said “But over time, that ticket has become too expensive for too many Americans. All of this means an entire generation is now saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for an attempt, at least, at a college degree.”

President Biden has shown his sympathy for those who are burdened with crippling debt for wanting to receive a higher level of education. This is something that he knows personally, as his family was not of the upper-class.

While student loan payments have been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be coming to an end on Dec. 31, 2022, leaving many Americans in turmoil as the financial crisis continues throughout the country. Due to this, President Biden is beginning to fulfill his promise of student debt forgiveness.

To qualify for forgiveness, you must make less than $125,000 a year as an individual, or $250,000 as a married couple. Those who received a Pell Grant, are eligible to receive up to $20,000 of forgiveness, and those who did not receive a Pell Grant are eligible for up to $10,000 of forgiveness. Along with this, those who are in the military, employed by nonprofits or by federal or state government may be eligible to have all of their debts forgiven by the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Although this forgiveness program may assist those who are eligible, there are other plans to help make loan payments more manageable when they continue in January 2023. President Biden and Vice President Harris have proposed that income-based payments be put in place. This includes having borrowers pay no more than five percent of their monthly income on undergraduate loans, forgiving loans after 10 years of payments and ceasing to increase the amount of loans needing to be paid back as long as income-based loan payments are being made.

As the Biden-Harris administration continues to work towards accommodations for those in need of assistance, more resources have become available. For more information, visit studentaid.org/debt-relief/application.