US President Joe Biden’s plans to wipe out up to $10,000 on many individual federal student loans—and in some cases up to $20,000—will be welcomed by close to 40 million Americans who are in line to benefit as soon as this month. But tens of millions will see a return of student debt burdens in the new year, creating more financial headaches and hardship at a time of growing economic uncertainty.
That’s set to be further complicated by the massive changes the system has undergone while it’s been on hiatus and the fact that a lot of student loan rule changes the White House is implementing are only partly rolled out.