Data shows 26 million people in the U.S. applied or were automatically eligible for student debt relief

WASHINGTON (KYMA, KECY) - The Biden-Harris Administration released data that showed the number of people in the U.S. who applied or were automatically eligible for student debt relief.

About 26 million people applied for debt relief or gave important information to the Department of Education to be eligible said the press release.

The Administration's program was announced in August where they planned to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief for borrowers earning less than $125,000 per year.

According to the Department of Education, about over 16 million applications were approved and sent to loan servicers but then stopped accepting applications due to lawsuits in November 2022.

The Department of Education said more than 40 million borrowers would qualify for the debt relief program.

For more information, you can visit StudentAid.gov/debtrelief.

According to the Administration's data, here is how many people applied for debt relief and whose applications were approved by the Department.

• About 496,000 people in Arizona applied or were deemed automatically eligible for relief and 314,000 had fully approved applications sent to loan servicers for discharge.
• And 2,315,000 people in California applied or were deemed automatically eligible for relief and 1,473,000 had fully approved applications sent to loan servicers for discharge.
• To look at other states' data, you can visit HERE.