President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Washington. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona listens at right. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Washington. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona listens at right. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)

White House estimates over 60K Alaskans to benefit from student loan forgiveness plan

The state adds a small portion to the estimated 40M borrowers eligible for relief across the country

Tens of thousands of Alaska residents are expected to receive student loan forgiveness, according to new data.

Weeks after President Joe Biden announced his plan to provide up to $20,000 in student debt cancellation for students across the country, the White House released a fact sheet detailing just how many borrowers are expected to benefit from state-by-state.

It’s estimated that 60,500 borrowers in Alaska will receive the baseline $10,000 in loan forgiveness, and of those borrowers, an estimated 37,300 who received a Pell Grant are expected to receive an additional $10,000 in forgiveness to total $20,000, according to the White House.

[How will the student loan forgiveness plan impact Alaskans?]

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The number of borrowers in Alaska contributes a small portion of the overall number of Americans living with student debt, and according to the White House, an estimated 40 million borrowers are eligible for its student debt relief plan and close to 20 million could see their debt eliminated. The fact sheet outlined that close to 71% of Black undergraduate borrowers are Pell Grant recipients and 65% of Latino undergraduate borrowers are Pell Grant recipients as well.

“Nearly 90% of relief dollars will go to those earning less than $75,000 per year – and no relief will go to any individual or household in the top 5% of incomes in the United States,” the fact sheet stated.

An April 2022 study by the Educational Data Initiative found similar numbers for the amount of borrowers in Alaska and estimated more than 65,000 Alaska residents are currently living with student loans and just under 50% of them are 35 years old or younger. Overall, that equates to 9.2% of the state’s residents having some type of student loan debt and more than 80% are found to have at least $5,000 in debt to repay.

At Juneau’s local campus, the University of Alaska Southeast, 16% of its undergraduate students took out student loans that averaged $6,410 during the 2019-2020 school year (the 2020-2021 information has yet to be release), according to data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

There are still many unknowns regarding the announced debt forgiveness, such as when borrowers will need to apply if needed and when the relief will roll out.

The Department of Education recently released a statement that the application for relief will be ready in “early October” and encouraged people to apply before Nov. 15 — before restarting federal loan repayments at the beginning of 2023 — however, no clear date has been released yet.

For some, the cancellation will be automatic if the department has access to their income information, but others will need to fill out a form.

Biden is expected to share more information on the plan in the coming weeks, according to the White House.

Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.

More in News

Balloons fall on dozens of children armed with confetti poppers during the Ninth Annual Noon-Year’s Eve Party at the Soldotna Public Library on New Year’s Eve. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kids mark a colorful countdown to 2025

Soldotna library hosted ‘Noon-Year’s Eve’

Assembly President Peter Ribbens speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly to act on ordinances at Tuesday meeting

The legislation addresses public meeting comments, civil fine accrual, and a rezoning petition

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Updated: Troopers take into custody ‘person of interest’ in Cooper Landing burglaries

Troopers asked people in Cooper Landing to be vigilant and urged against picking up hitchhikers

The deadline for the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, which comes from the fund managed by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, is coming up fast, landing on March 31, 2022. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
PFD applications open for 2025

Residents can submit their applications online until midnight March 31

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Job Center is seen here in Kenai, Alaska, on April 15, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Minimum wage increases by $0.18

Another increase, to $13 per hour, is set for July 1

The Anchor River flows in the Anchor Point State Recreation Area on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Trout Unlimited to host presentation on steelhead findings from Anchor River weir

The event is set for 6 p.m. at the Goods on Tuesday, Jan. 7

Kristen Faulkner, who won two gold medals for cycling at the Paris 2024 Olympics, speaks to Andrew Elam during a meet and greet hosted by the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce at the Cannery Lodge in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘Make it or not’

Homer’s Kristen Faulkner returns to Kenai Peninsula months after claiming a pair of Olympic gold medals in cycling

A snowmachine rider takes advantage of 2 feet of fresh snow on a field down Murwood Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Snowmachine use barred in refuge, areas of Chugach National Forest

Inadequate snow cover cited as reason for the closure

A group of people sing “Silent Night” in the Elwell Fishing Lodge at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge near Soldotna, Alaska, on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A night made brighter with song and light

Candlelight walk marks Christmas Eve

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in