Federal student loan collections—including wage garnishment—will resume within weeks, the Education Department confirmed on April 21, ending a five-year freeze and setting the stage for millions of defaulted borrowers to face renewed enforcement.
The move, announced in a Monday press release, marks the formal end of a years-long pause on federal student loan collections that began in March 2020 under President Donald Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic and was extended multiple times by the Biden administration.
As of early 2025, more than 9.7 million borrowers were behind in payments, and officials say restarting collections is necessary to protect taxpayers and restore accountability to the $1.6 trillion federal student loan system….