SaverLife’s Take on Student Loan Forgiveness
Last month, President Biden announced a new plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt for federal student loan borrowers.
A Great First Step
We believe student loan forgiveness is a groundbreaking step to reducing the colossal burden of education debt preventing borrowers from building generational wealth, especially for women of color and low- to moderate-income households.
Canceling Student Debt Opens Doors to Bright Futures
Many of our SaverLife members build savings so their children can pursue education and training that opens career pathways, offers higher-paying jobs, and leads to financial prosperity.
But as college costs and student loan burdens have skyrocketed, higher education and training have become expensive, especially for our members and their families, and are sometimes out of reach. Education debt has also been found to fall disproportionately on Black and women borrowers, preventing them from establishing financial stability or building generational wealth.
We Call Upon the Federal Government to Do More
We applaud the student loan forgiveness decision. But we also urge the Biden administration to push further. If the Administration seeks to help low-income borrowers and borrowers of color build generational wealth, they must do more to create equitable student loan forgiveness and tuition reform initiatives.
Why Student Loan Forgiveness is Important to SaverLife
As a national fintech and advocacy nonprofit organization, our mission is to help our members turn short-term savings into long-term wealth.
In a March 2021 survey of nearly 700 SaverLife members, we found 67% of respondents owed a median of $38,500 on federal student loans.
“I will be paying on my loans for years to come. I appreciate what I learned in my education, but I wish I didn’t have this big debt milestone weighing me down.”
Jamie N., SaverLife member
Through our research, we’ve learned 74% of our members don’t earn enough to set money aside for long-term investments like higher education or homeownership. And our research has shown when communities of color have more equitable access to homeownership, that opens more generational wealth-building opportunities. Yet, many of our members are unable to afford homeownership because they bear heavy loads of student debt, impacting their credit and further ability to borrow.
Addressing student loan debt is an important and urgent step to narrow the racial wealth gap and help our members build a brighter financial future.
If you have student loan debt and/or you have kids in college, you may qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Check out our Money 101 article detailing everything you need to know about what’s in Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, who qualifies, and when and how to apply.