By Dianne Anderson

Educated folks that purposely turned off the news or are turning a blind eye to a wave of notices sent out last week may see their small paychecks get even smaller by next month.

Young and old former college students are getting ready for their wages to be drained, up to 15% in a massive garnishment targeting some five million borrowers who are over 270 days past due.

Notices are already hitting mailboxes, and not even seniors will dodge the hit, unless borrowers take fast steps to address their default.

AARP expects the unpaid loans will take a heavy toll. Older borrowers now make up about 25% of the nation’s total student debt. By some estimates, 40% of borrowers over 65 are in default.

“Should garnishment resume, up to 15 percent of benefits may be withheld to repay defaulted student loans. However, unlike with back taxes, garnishment for student debt can’t leave you with less than $750 in benefits a month,” according to an AARP factsheet, Can Social Security Be Garnished?

Federal law allows the government to take up to 15% of a borrower’s disposable pay, or offset up to 15% of Social Security benefits. But seniors on Social Security are legally guaranteed to keep at least $750 of their monthly benefit under the Debt Collection Improvement Act.

To deal with the flood of former students expected to reach out, some local colleges are providing resources to help them navigate collections and connect with their loan servicers.

At Long Beach City College, Stacey Toda said that student loan borrowing is relatively uncommon due to their college’s low-cost structure and the high proportion of students eligible for grant-based aid.

For fall 2025, about 82% of students received the California Promise Grant, and 50% received Pell Grants, enabling many to cover educational expenses without relying on loans, which allows the likelihood of student loan default and wage garnishment among LBCC students to be comparatively low.

“Our financial aid services focus on FAFSA and CADAA completion and maintaining aid eligibility to help students minimize the need for borrowing. Currently, LBCC works with Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) to manage student loan defaults. ECMC oversees borrower communications, outreach, and resolution efforts related to defaulted loans,” said Toda, spokesperson for Long Beach City College.

Nationally, about five million borrowers, including seniors, could lose up to 15 percent of Social Security. They have 30 days from the date on their notice to act. But if they open their mail on time, they can start loan rehabilitation, which removes default after nine consecutive on-time payments.

They can use loan consolidation to restore good standing or request a hardship hearing if garnishment prevents them from paying for rent or food.

California law AB 376 ensures accurate loan information with extra help for seniors and public service workers.

Lilly McKibbin said Cal State Dominguez Hills reached out last June to students who were delinquent or in default to provide direct resources and share proactive steps to protect their financial future.

“The Financial Aid and Scholarships office provides consistent resources to our campus community, including Financial Wellness Sessions/Workshops throughout the year,” she said. “We have seven workshops lined up for Spring 2026, and are working on a session that focuses on Student Loan Default.”

At CSU Long Beach, spokesperson Jim Milbury said that all student borrowers complete federally required loan counseling. When students take out federal loans, they sign a promissory note with the U.S. Department of Education acknowledging that the funds must be repaid, and they complete federal entrance counseling at the time of borrowing and exit counseling when they graduate or withdraw.

After graduation or withdrawal, the loan repayment is handled directly between the borrower and their federal loan servicer, not the university.

While CSULB does not administer or intervene in loan repayment, he said the Financial Aid Office remains available to answer general questions and help connect current and former students to their loan servicer and federal resources.

“Ultimately, borrowers are responsible for working directly with their lender to explore repayment plans, deferments, or other available options if they experience difficulty repaying their loans,” said  said Milbury in an email.

Last week, the Department of Education started the process by sending around 1,000 initial notices to borrowers, and they plan to significantly increase notices each month throughout 2026.

Protect Borrowers advocate Persis Yu blasted the restart of collections, citing the “hundreds of thousands” of improper garnishments during the last Trump administration as proof the system is too broken to be turned back on.

Yu, an attorney, said there are still nearly a million unprocessed Income-Driven Repayment applications, and the Department of Education has acknowledged denying large numbers of borrowers who applied for help accessing the most affordable payment options.

“At a time when families across the country are struggling with stagnant wages and an affordability crisis, this Administration’s decision to garnish wages from defaulted student loan borrowers is cruel, unnecessary, and irresponsible. As millions of borrowers sit on the precipice of default, this Administration is using its self-inflicted limited resources to seize borrowers’ wages instead of defending borrowers’ right to affordable payments,” said Yu, Deputy Executive Director and Managing Counsel of the nonprofit.

For Information, see:

Free assistance is available through the California DFPI Student Loan Empowerment Project (888-774-2227), or the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (800-399-4529).

For Protect Borrowers, see: https://protectborrowers.org/

For AARP, see: https://www.aarp.org/social-security/faq/can-it-be-garnished/

and upcoming webinar, see https://www.eventbrite.com/e/student-loan-forgiveness-workshop-powered-by-savi-aarp-tickets-1977025103304?aff=erelexpmlt