$267.1 million in total debt discharged in the state since last year
SANTA FE – The New Mexico Higher Education Department announced Monday that 6,270 New Mexicans have received forgiveness of their federal student loans via President Biden’s SAVE loan forgiveness plan and fixes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Plan (PSLF).
This amounts to $267.1 million in debt discharged statewide as a result of the Biden Administration’s action. The federal government also forgave the loans of 5,410 New Mexico borrowers last year due to fixes to the longstanding PSLF Plan, totaling $260.2 million. Nationwide, 806,000 borrowers received $39 billion in total forgiveness.
“I’m thrilled that the Biden Administration has eliminated the burden of student loans for thousands of New Mexicans who decided to continue their education and have been faithfully making payments for a decade or more. This move will provide these individuals with greater capacity to support their lives and families, contribute to our state economy, and potentially consider further education and career options. I am glad to see that the federal government is complimenting New Mexico’s leading work in becoming a debt-free college state. We remain committed to that mission through the groundbreaking Opportunity Scholarship, the Lottery Scholarship and our many loan repayment and loan-for-service programs for hardworking professionals,” said Higher Education Secretary Stephanie M. Rodriguez.
The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that $1.2 billion in federal student loan debt had been discharged via President Biden’s Saving on Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. The Department announced numbers for the PSLF Program last July. The Department has said it will continue to identify and discharge eligible loans on an ongoing basis.
For borrowers to be eligible for SAVE forgiveness, they must have enrolled in the SAVE Plan, have made at least ten years of payments and have originally taken out $12,000 or less for college. For every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments. All borrowers on the SAVE Plan also receive forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, depending on whether they have loans for graduate school. Benefits are based upon the original principal amount owed.
At the state level, the New Mexico Higher Education Department provided loan forgiveness to 1,314 New Mexicans last year, totaling $14.9 million via its loan repayment and loan-for-service programs for working health care professionals, teachers, Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) employees, attorneys working in public service law, and nurse educators. Over $31 million is included in the recently passed FY25 budget for these programs, and over $315 million for scholarship programs to reduce debt loads for current and future students.
For more information about federal student loan forgiveness, visit ed.gov. For more information about New Mexico loan repayment, loan-for-service and scholarship programs, visit hed.nm.gov.