Washingtonians have $28 billion in student loan debt. Do you qualify for Biden’s plan?
President Joe Biden announced a plan to cancel up to $20,000 of student loans per borrower on Wednesday morning, giving students with federal loans hope for debt forgiveness.
Biden’s plan will forgive $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for federal loan borrowers, as well as extend the student loan payment pause until December 31, 2022. Biden gave additional details Wednesday afternoon during a livestream press conference.
Biden encouraged people to check out the Public Service Student Loan forgiveness program for additional options. Applications are due by Oct. 31.
“It’s all about providing possibilities,” Biden said.
Do I qualify for student loan forgiveness?
According to Biden’s plan, you are eligible for student debt forgiveness if you:
▪ Have an annual income below $125,000 for individuals or $250,000 for married couples or heads of households.
▪ Received a Pell Grant in college and meet the income requirement, you will be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness.
▪ Meet the income requirement alone, without a Pell Grant, you will be eligible for up to $10,000 in debt forgiveness.
How will Washingtonians be affected by student loan forgiveness?
In Washington state, residents have $28 billion in student loan debt, with an average debt of $35,510, according to the Education Data Initiative from the U.S. Department of Education.
Out of Washington’s 788,500 federal loan borrowers, 49.3% are under the age of 35.
Only 16.5% of Washington borrowers owe less than $5,000, 21.2% owe between $20,000 to $40,000, and 2.3% owe over $200,000 in student loan debt.
Washington has the fourth lowest amount of student loan debt in the United States, according to a recent report by WalletHub, a personal finance website.
How do I receive student loan forgiveness?
Biden’s plan states that nearly 8 million borrowers will automatically receive debt forgiveness as their necessary income information has already been received by the U.S. Department of Education.
If the department does not have your income information or you are not sure if they have it, an application will be released “in the coming weeks,” before the loan payment pause ends on Dec. 31.
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Washingtonians have $28 billion in student loan debt. Do you qualify for Biden’s plan?."
