The Biden-Harris Student Debt Relief Plan

Official Announcement – https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/

A Plan in 3 Parts:

Part 1 – Final extension of the student loan repayment pause

The repayment pause is automatically continued until December 31, 2022. Repayment restarts in January 2023.

Part 2 – Loan cancellation

The Federal Student Loan Debt Relief application is LIVE and available to submit.

Apply for Debt Relief

Watch President Biden’s announcement on CSPAN.

One-Time Student Loan Debt Relief Info – https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/one-time-cancellation

Important points we know so far…

  • This cancellation applies to Federal Student Loans disbursed by 6/30/22, so it will not apply to any loans taken out for this current 2022-23 academic year and on.
  • This applies to ANY Federal Direct Loans
    • This DOES NOT include Institutional Loans from UW-Madison or Private Loans.
    • NOTE – Because Perkins Loans taken out from UW-Madison are not serviced by the Department of Education, rather ECSI, these will also not qualify.
  • About 8 million students will have the cancellation automatically applied (those currently in income-based repayment). Others will need to apply – click the red box above!
    • The application takes less than 5 minutes and is available in both English and Spanish.
    • Apply before November 15, 2022 in order to receive relief before the payment pause expires on December 31, 2022.
    • Borrowers will have until December 31, 2023 to submit their application for student loan debt relief.
  • Although this debt cancellation will not impact any federal taxes you pay, if you are a Wisconsin resident, you will have to pay state taxes on any canceled debt.

How to review your federal financial aid including Federal Student Loans and the Federal Pell Grant:

  • Current Students – use your MyUW Student Center to review your financial aid for each year you’ve been a student. There you will see if the Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loans are listed.
  • Current & Former Students/Alumni – log into studentaid.gov with your FSA ID and password to review you Federal Student Aid history, which will include the Federal Pell Grant (if you received it) and/or Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans.
    • If you received either Pell Grant or Federal Direct Loans prior to 1994, these will unfortunately not be reflected on Studentaid.gov, BUT the Department of Education has reassured us that your information is still on file and will qualify.

Part 3 – Create a new income-driven repayment plan

Substantially reduce future monthly payments for lower- and middle-income borrowers.

WARNING!

Because of the nature of this announcement, there are already reports of scams and scammers taking advantage of borrowers. Here’s a list of Student Loan Debt Relief Do’s and Don’ts from Federal Student Aid to keep yourself protected. You are your best protection!