Joe Biden cancels $1.2 billion of federal student loans

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden's administration announced that more than 150,000 borrowers will receive $1.2 billion in student loan forgiveness under a program unveiled in January seeking to provide relief for Americans who had been making payments for at least a decade.

The move - which benefits those enrolled in the government's Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan - wipes out loans for those who borrowed less than $12,000 for their higher education. Other income-driven repayment plans also forgive balances, but only after 20 or 25 years of repayment.

The latest round pushes the total relief approved by the Biden administration to nearly $138 billion, benefiting 3.9 million borrowers. That number could grow as more people become eligible for forgiveness under the SAVE program, which has 6.9 million people enrolled.