On Wednesday (August 24), President Joe Biden announced a plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt for Americans making less than $125,000 a year.
In a speech from the White House, Biden stated, "Education is a ticket to a better life. ... but over time that ticket has become too expensive for too many Americans. All this means that an entire generation is now saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for an attempt, at least, at a college degree. The burden is so heavy that even if you graduate you may not have access to the middle-class life that the college degree once provided."
The amount of debt a borrower can have forgiven depends on if they received a Pell grant during their time in college, which would allow the maximum $20,000 to be forgiven. Pell grants are given to students in "exceptional financial need," according to the Department of Education's Federal Student Aid office.
If a student did not receive a Pell grant, they make less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 as a married couple or head of a household, they will have $10,000 forgiven.
