Count more than a quarter million Pennsylvanians among the number of student loan debtors who have enrolled in a Biden administration program designed to forgive loans, lower them or provide significant relief.
A tabulation of data from all Pennsylvania districts shows that 230,400 borrowers across the commonwealth have enrolled in the SAVE program - which stands for Saving on a Valuable Education Plan. In central Pennsylvania that number is about 31,700 enrollees.
The numbers are based on data released Wednesday by the Biden Administration showing that nearly 5.5 million borrowers have enrolled in SAVE. Of those, 2.9 million have had their balances wiped clean.
The SAVE plan, which replaces the REPAYE plan, calculates a borrower’s payments based on income and family size, not the loan balance and forgives remaining balances after a certain number of years. Estimated savings for most borrowers is $1,000 a year. Some borrowers will have their balances immediately erased.
The Biden Administration is touting new SAVE plan one month after millions of Americans with student loans resumed debt repayment. The federal government had temporarily paused student loan payments in March 2020 as a pandemic-related economic relief measure, but Congress this year blocked any additional extensions to the program.
The new data was categorized in each state by congressional district. For instance, in the 10th Congressional District, which covers a large swath of York, Dauphin and Cumberland counties, 12,200 debtors enrolled in the pay back plan. 10th District Rep. Scott Perry is among the House Republicans who backed legislation seeking to block the president’s program.
“Under President Biden, the Department created the SAVE Plan so that young people and working families can climb the economic ladder without unaffordable student loan debt weighing them down,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
Federal education officials, speaking on a call with reporters on Wednesday, touted significant savings for borrowers compared to the previous repayment plan.
“These actions are providing real relief to borrowers and their families, especially those who are disproportionately impacted by student debt, like borrowers of color and borrowers with low income,” education officials said.
The issue largely impacts 43 million borrowers, particularly Black and brown borrowers, who, on average, face steeper financial hurdles in paying back college loans, and who generally take longer to pay back loans compared to their white counterparts.
A report from the University of Pennsylvania last year estimated that student loan forgiveness could cost the federal government around $1 trillion.
Education officials said savings for borrowers will increase next year when the U.S. Education Department implements further payment reductions for undergraduate loans, as well as earlier loan forgiveness for smaller loans.
The Biden Administration has already approved $127 billion in targeted relief for nearly 3.6 million borrowers. The administration is proposing revisions to regulations that would make more borrowers eligible for loan forgiveness.
For more information on eligibility and how to apply for the program visit the SAVE website.
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