- The Supreme Court struck down Biden's student debt forgiveness plan on Friday.
- Within the hour, the NYT published an article on "Six Ways You Can Still Cancel Your Federal Student Loan Debt."
Within one hour of the Supreme Court striking down President Joe Biden's student debt forgiveness plan, the New York Times published an article detailing six different ways that individuals can still have their student debt cancelled in light of the ruling.
"There are still plenty of ways to get your student debt wiped away," the article noted. "What follows is a list of ways to eliminate your federal student loan balance aside from paying in full."
Among the "list of ways" presented by the Times: death.
—Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) June 30, 2023
"This is not something that most people would choose as a solution to their debt burden," the article noted, before going on to explain that student loans are indeed cancelled when the borrower dies.
Similarly, loans that parents or other relative took out to pay for their dependent child's education are forgiven upon death.
"If you're a young adult wondering about the federal PLUS loans your relatives took out to pay for your education, you may be wondering whether the debt dies with the person or people who take it on," the Times noted. "It does. The federal government will not make a claim on their estate, and you will not inherit the balance."
Other options presented by the Times included income-driven repayment, enrolling in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, petition the government if they believe they were misled by their school, and seeking loan discharges based on bankruptcy or disability.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the New York Times said they "don't have any comment to offer" but that there would soon be a "slight update to the text of the article."
And after the initial publication of this article, the Times updated the original article, removing the word "six" from the headline and amending the framing of the "Death" heading to "Debt Won't Carry On."
—bryan metzger (@metzgov) June 30, 2023