Some student loan borrowers get a pleasant surprise.

Photo: Boston Globe/Boston Globe (via Getty Images)

Federal borrowers eligible for student loan forgiveness under a repayment plan implemented last year will receive financial relief months earlier than expected.

The Biden administration announced Friday that Americans enrolled in the SAVE plan and eligible for termination will have their loans forgiven starting in February, six months earlier than expected. Under SAVE, also known as the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, a borrower who initially takes out a student loan of $12,000 or less and continues to make payments for 10 years will have his or her remaining balance erased. Starting this month, the U.S. Department of Education will notify eligible borrowers enrolled in the program that their loans will be automatically forgiven.

“This measure will especially help community college borrowers, low-income students, and those struggling to repay their loans,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “And this is part of our continued commitment to act as soon as possible to give more borrowers the luxury they deserve and unburden themselves from the burden of student loan debt so they can move on with their lives and continue pursuing their dreams. .”

First introduced in August 2023, the SAVE plan determines payment amounts based on the borrower's family size and discretionary income. This was intended to replace the revised Pay-As-You-Earn or REPAYE plan that was already in place. Loan forgiveness was originally scheduled to take effect July 1. As of this month, 6.9 million borrowers have enrolled in the program, according to a press release. It is not clear how many people will have their loans forgiven in the coming weeks.

The development of the plan was not as smooth as expected. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a report released this month that there were significant delays in processing applications for SAVE plans, with 450,000 of them remaining unresolved for more than 30 days.

Just last June, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 against Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt through the powers of the HEROES Act. Shortly after, millions of federal loan borrowers resumed making monthly payments in October after a three-year suspension of payments and interest accrual due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the court's rejection of the forgiveness plan, the government will provide $132 million to more than 3.6 million borrowers through other measures such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and changes to the law that allow loan forgiveness to people with disabilities. Reports that nearby debts have been forgiven. Pay back their loans.