Since then, the administration has approved the cancellation of about $8.1 billion in federal student loan debt for close to 145,000 borrowers under the new waiver. Some of these borrowers have been approved for loan forgiveness but have yet to receive the relief.
The number of borrowers who have been approved for debt relief so far is a fraction of the 550,000 borrowers the Department of Education originally estimated would be eligible for student loan forgiveness under the temporary expansion of the program.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program promises to wipe away remaining federal student loan debt after an eligible government or nonprofit worker makes 10 years of monthly payments. The program was created about 15 years ago, but a very small percentage of borrowers who applied had received forgiveness before 2021.
Many people criticized the program as difficult to navigate and some said they found out they weren’t eligible for forgiveness only after making what they…
