The process is underway to wipe over a million in loans.

This week, the United States Department of Education announced that they are developing fixes to address the “longstanding failures” of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and income-driven repayment plans, all in order to wipe out the longstanding, restrictive student loan debts that are affecting tens of thousands of working Americans.

The Education Department said on Tuesday it would use one-time waivers and adjustments to retroactively credit millions of borrowers with additional payments toward student loan forgiveness.https://t.co/IpXfBph2Yw

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 19, 2022

“Student loans were never meant to be a life sentence, but it’s certainly felt that way for borrowers locked out of debt relief they’re eligible for,” US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a press release. “Today, the Department of Education will begin to remedy years of administrative failures that effectively denied the promise of loan forgiveness to certain borrowers enrolled in IDR plans.”

“By identifying obstacles for borrowers and fixing them, we are giving borrowers the support they deserve and restoring faith in these programs, even as we fix the mistakes of the past,” Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said in a press call. “We’re also focused on the future. The administration is developing a new repayment plan that will substantially reduce monthly payments for most borrowers.”

JUST IN: The U.S. Department of Education will retroactively help millions of federal student loan borrowers who have been hurt by its income-driven repayment plans.

At least 40,000 borrowers will see their debts cancelled as a result of the changes. https://t.co/EONaVwnIUV

— NPR (@NPR) April 19, 2022

If the PSLF can be successfully revamped, at least 40,000 Americans could see their student loan debts wiped out immediately, while at least 3.6 million more will receive a major boost toward paying back their existing balance.