The headquarters of the Ministry of Education on March 12, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee | Getty images
The American Department of Education announced on Monday that his office of federal aid for students will resume the “involuntary collections” on May 5 for Federal student loans who are in default.
The collections will be made by the so-called Treasury shift programwhich can reduce or retain government payments – such as tax reimbursements, social security services, federal wages and other advantages paid through a federal agency – to satisfy a debt in government.
“American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as a guarantee for irresponsible student loan policies,” said US Secretary for American Education Linda McMahon in a statement. “Administration Biden has misleaded borrowers: executive power does not have the constitutional authority to erase debts, and loan sales do not disappear either.”
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The ministry has not collected on student loans by default since March 2020. After the Covid pandemic – it's a break On federal payments on student loans expired in September 2023, the Biden administration offered borrowers another year in which they would be Protected from the impacts of missed payments.
More than 5 million borrowers are currently in default, according to the Department of Education, with 4 million additional “delinquency at an advanced stage”, or more than 90 days spent on payments.
All the default borrowers will be informed by e-mail by Office of Federal Student Aid in the next two weeks, the ministry said. These borrowers can contact the government Default resolution group To make a monthly payment, register for a income focused on income or register to loan rehabilitation.
The borrowers who remain in default will be subject to “involuntary collections” and could possibly face Administrative salarysaid the Department of Education.
“The borrowers who graduated during the pandemic may have no experience in reimbursement of loans, it is therefore important to educate them on the process, including their rights and responsibilities,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
“Payment is due even if you are not satisfied with the quality of the education you have received,” he said.
