• WBST 92.1 FMMuncie
  • WBSB 89.5 FMAnderson
  • WBSW 90.9 FMMarion
  • WBSH 91.1 FMHagerstown / New Castle
Indiana Public Radio, a listener-supported service of Ball State University
Listen Live Online. Tap to open audio stream.

Biden administration to discharge $932M in student loans from Hoosier borrowers

By Kirsten Adair, IPB News | Published on in Education, Government, Politics
The U.S. Department of Education said the fixes are an attempt to address "historical failures" in its administration of the federal student loan program. (FILE PHOTO: Jeanie Lindsay/IPB News)

More than 19,000 eligible Indiana borrowers will have part or all of their student loans discharges following federal action taken last week by the Biden administration. The U.S. Department of Education’s data shows more than $932 million will be automatically discharged for borrowers in Indiana.

The Biden administration announced the discharges as fixes to the income-driven repayment plans, which are designed to forgive any remaining federal student loan balance if a borrower can make regular monthly payments for 20 to 25 years. The U.S. Department of Education said the fixes are an attempt to address “historical failures” in its administration of the federal student loan program. According to the Biden administration, some qualifying payments were not counted toward borrowers’ loan forgiveness.

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text “Indiana” to 73224. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues.

The fixes implemented will discharge $39 billion worth of student loans across the country and result in student loan forgiveness for more than 800,000 borrowers in the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Education said it started notifying eligible borrowers last Friday. Borrowers are not required to take any further action and the discharges are expected to begin 30 days after notifications are sent.

Kirsten is our education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair.