Trump administration to resume wage garnishments for student loan defaulters in January

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — The Trump administration has announced plans to send approximately 1,000 notices to borrowers the week of Jan. 7, signaling the resumption of wage garnishments for those who have not made a student loan payment in nine months or more. This marks a significant shift, as no federal student loans have been referred to collections since the onset of the pandemic.

Emmett Pepper, a bankruptcy attorney in Charleston, explained the process:

“Unlike other wage garnishments people may be familiar with, if somebody, just a regular company sues you, they have to go through the court system, they have to wait for time to lapse for appeals and all that stuff. They don’t have to do this.”

Pepper emphasized that money will start being deducted from paychecks, but everyone will receive a notice prior to the garnishment.

“Go on studentaid.gov and check to make, to see if they are in default,” Pepper said. ” And then also make sure that they have their contact information updated. So that they, if there is something that you need to hear from, you know, from the federal government on this, that they will get it. I guess the third thing is, is just open all your mail. Open your mail.”

According to the Education Data Initiative, $7.4 billion in student debt belongs to West Virginia residents, with almost half of them under 35 years old.

Pepper expressed concerns for West Virginia families.

“The main thing I’m concerned about is that people are aware of their situation and are proactive about it,” he said. “Because, you know, there are things that you can do. There are, you can, you know, essentially appeal it. You can work to get out of default in ways that are different from necessarily garnishment.”

Wage garnishments will vary depending on income, meaning some could pay more than others.

Pepper warned, “This is not a situation where you can put your head in the sand. And then I really do hope that Congress thinks about this and, and makes some changes that are going to make sense for the 21st century.”