Millions of students to receive loan payment relief as Education Department halts collections.

• The U.S. Department of Education has announced that it will temporarily halt payments for millions of student loan borrowers as it battles legal challenges to its debt relief program.
• Borrowers enrolled in the Biden administration's new repayment plan, SAVE, will be placed in an interest-free forbearance, as announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

The U.S. Department of Education has announced that it will temporarily halt payments for millions of student loan borrowers as it battles legal challenges to its debt relief program.

Borrowers enrolled in the Biden administration's new repayment plan, SAVE, will be placed in an interest-free forbearance, as announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

On Thursday, a federal appeals court blocked the entire plan, which the White House claims has approximately 8 million enrollees.

The Biden administration's attempt to forgive student debt through the SAVE program was challenged by lawsuits filed by Republican-led states, including Arkansas, Florida, and Missouri, who claimed that the administration overstepped its authority and tried to find a way to forgive debt after the Supreme Court blocked the plan in June 2023.

The SAVE plan has two key provisions that have been targeted by legal challenges: lower monthly payments than any other federal student loan repayment plan and quicker debt erasure for those with small balances.

Cardona criticized the politically motivated lawsuits brought by Republican elected officials, which are hindering lower payments for millions of borrowers.

The Education Department had already forgiven $5.5 billion in student debt for 414,000 borrowers through the SAVE Plan before the legal challenges.

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