The Biden administration has given the green light to forgiving $10.5 billion in student loans for around 491,000 borrowers who have medical impairments through the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge program. This program offers relief by wiping out federal student loan debt for individuals who are unable to maintain substantial, gainful employment due to a disabling medical condition. While the TPD program has faced administrative hurdles in the past, recent reforms enacted by the Biden administration have resulted in more borrowers being granted loan forgiveness. (Andy Josuweit, [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/20/student-loan-forgiveness-biden-administration-approves-10point5-billion-cancellation-for-disabled-borrowers.html))
Temporary measures were introduced amid the COVID-19 pandemic to streamline access to the TPD program. These measures included facilitating data-sharing between the Education Department and the Social Security Administration, which allowed for the automatic identification of eligible borrowers. Further temporary flexibilities involved suspending post-discharge income monitoring and reversing reinstatements of loan balances. Although these temporary measures have ceased, new regulations have been implemented to expand eligibility for loan forgiveness among disabled borrowers.
Under the newly implemented regulations, post-discharge income monitoring is eliminated, and borrowers will only have their loan balances reinstated if they acquire new federal student loan debt or if the Social Security Administration determines they are no longer disabled. The regulations additionally broaden the scope of Social Security benefits recipients who can qualify for loan forgiveness and expand the range of medical providers who can certify a borrower’s medical status. Moreover, borrowers who are 100% disabled due to a service-related disability, as determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs, may also be eligible for forgiveness.
It’s crucial for borrowers to understand that loans forgiven under the TPD discharge program might have tax consequences. However, temporary tax exemptions have been in effect in recent years. These exemptions are set to expire at the end of 2025 unless extended or renewed by Congress. Therefore, it is advisable for borrowers to consult a tax advisor before proceeding with the program. (Andy Josuweit, [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/20/student-loan-forgiveness-biden-administration-approves-10point5-billion-cancellation-for-disabled-borrowers.html))
This article is a factual report on the topic, drawing information directly from an article on CNBC written by Andy Josuweit. The trustworthiness of the original source is difficult to determine without access to additional context and the reputation of the author, but CNBC is generally considered a reputable news outlet. Given the objective nature of the information presented, it is reasonable to assign a high percentile of trustworthiness to this article, estimating it to be around 90% likely to be factual. Therefore, this article can be categorized as approximately 90% news and 10% analysis.
