However, millions have encountered challenges with repayment due to the influx of borrowers reentering the system at once. After an over three-year pause, interest began accruing on borrowers' balances in September, with bills becoming due in October. The relief comes as millions of borrowers continue to transition back into repayment.

In December, for example, the department approved another $5 billion in relief for 80,000 borrowers on PSLF and income-driven repayment plans. The Education Department previously said it would continue evaluating borrowers' accounts every other month to determine if they meet qualifying payments to receive loan forgiveness. 'My Administration is able to deliver relief to these borrowers - and millions more - because of fixes we made to broken student loan programs that were preventing borrowers from getting relief they were entitled to under the law,' he said. 'Of the 74,000 borrowers approved for relief today, nearly 44,000 of them are teachers, nurses, firefighters, and other individuals who earned forgiveness after 10 years of public service, and close to 30,000 of them are people who have been in repayment for at least 20 years but never got the relief they earned through income-driven repayment plans,' Biden said in a statement. It adds to the thousands of borrowers who have already benefited from the Education Department's one-time account adjustment for those who have completed qualifying payments on income-driven repayment plans and relief through a limited-time waiver for borrowers in Public Service Loan Forgiveness. On Friday, Biden announced that his administration approved another 74,000 borrowers for $5 billion in debt relief. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

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