As part of President Joe Biden's continued incremental approach to student debt relief, the White House said the administration was canceling $1.2 billion more in debt for almost 153,000 borrowers.

The forgiveness applies to people enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan, which the Biden administration launched after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Biden's sweeping student loan forgiveness plan. That plan would have eliminated about $400 billion in student loans and would have met the president's original promise to forgive undergraduate tuition-related student debt for borrowers earning up to $125,000. 

Taking an alternative route, Biden has so far approved about $138 billion in student debt cancellation for almost 3.9 million borrowers through various executive actions.

"Starting today, the Administration will be canceling debt for borrowers who are enrolled in the SAVE plan, have been in repayment for at least 10 years and took out $12,000 or less in loans for college," the White House said in a Feb. 21 fact sheet.

The Biden administration said that the U.S. Department of Education would also be contacting borrowers who qualify for the relief but had not yet enrolled in the plan. 

Under the SAVE repayment plan, monthly payments are based on borrowers' incomes and family sizes, not their loan balances. People also don't have to pay interest on their loans, as long as they're making monthly payments. 

There are about 7.5 million people enrolled in the plan, officials said, and about 4.3 million of them don't have a monthly payment.

"Many SAVE forgiveness recipients come from lower- and middle-income backgrounds," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on a call with reporters Feb. 21. "Many took out loans to attend community colleges. Some were at high risk for delinquency and default. That's why the actions we're announcing today do matter."

According to the Education Department, the Biden administration has approved:

• $56.7 billion for about 793,000 borrowers through fixes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

• $45.6 billion for 930,500 borrowers through improvements to income-driven repayment.

• $11.7 billion for 513,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability.

• $22.5 billion for 1.3 million borrowers through closed school discharges, borrower defense, and related court settlements.

Biden's efforts, while narrower than his initial proposal, continue to offer student debt forgiveness. This promise remains In the Works.