Overview
- Notices of administrative wage garnishment will begin the week of Jan. 7, 2026 and will expand month to month after the initial batch of roughly 1,000 borrowers.
- These will be the first paycheck seizures for defaulted federal student loans since collections were paused at the start of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
- Federal law allows withholding of up to 15% of a borrower’s after‑tax pay, and the government can also collect through tax‑refund and certain federal payment offsets.
- More than 5 million borrowers are in default, with additional millions delinquent, positioning a large population for potential enforcement.
- The department says borrowers can request a hearing or pursue rehabilitation or consolidation, while advocacy groups and some Democrats criticize the plan and have pushed legislation to limit garnishment powers.