On August 24, 2022, the White House put out a press release detailing President Biden’s plan to offer student loan debt relief to borrowers. The release discussed how borrowers would be eligible for either $10,000 or $20,000 in student loan debt relief depending on the type of debt that they borrowed. However, after a series of lawsuits filed against this executive order, the United States Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision in June 2023 regarding if this plan will continue to move forward or not. The White House estimates that at least 20 million borrowers could have their debt completely forgiven under this plan. However, many expect that the Supreme Court will issue an adverse ruling against this executive order.

Don’t despair about the possibility that the Supreme Court might scrap the President’s plan to eliminate some or all of your student loan debt. There are other programs that you might be able to access to reduce your student loan debt burden.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Those who borrowed federally-backed student loans may qualify for the public service loan forgiveness program if they work in the government or for a qualifying non-profit organization. Qualifying borrowers are eligible to have the remaining balance of their student loans forgiven after they have made 120 qualifying loan payments. This means that most borrowers who make 10 years’ worth of payments without fail will generally be eligible to get loan forgiveness. That said, this can provide borrowers with some nice relief from the remainder of the balance that they owe on their loans.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program

Teachers can change the lives of the students that they educate, and there are special programs to help educators receive at least some relief from their student loan burden. After all, we want to try to attract as many talented individuals to the education process as possible. Knowing the type of income that a typical teacher might expect to earn versus what they might have to borrow to make it happen can be discouraging. However, the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program can provide some relief. Forbes Advisor reports the following about this offering:
  That can offer some relief to educators who might otherwise feel overwhelmed by the amount they would need to borrow to get the degree required to teach students in this country.

Military Student Loan Forgiveness Program

Speaking of people that we look up to as heroes, those who choose to serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and Coast Guard can potentially get some relief from their student loan burden via the military student loan forgiveness program. Qualifying servicemembers can receive up to $50,000 in student loan forgiveness based on their eligibility.

This is exactly the kind of thing that is necessary to help get more and more people signed up for military service. We are currently in the midst of a recruiting shortage in the military that needs to be addressed. Relief programs like this can be used as one tool in the battle to get recruitment levels back to where we need them to be.

These are just a few of the student loan debt forgiveness programs out there. Don’t miss out on the chance to take advantage of these programs and many more just like them. You might even have some options to choose from within your own state. Look into those state-specific programs as well. Anything you can do to reduce your student loan debt burden is worth a hard look.