Collections Temporarily Delayed
On January 16, 2026, the Department of Education announced that it was temporarily delaying collection of defaulted student loans, but we don’t know how long the pause will last. If your loans are in default when the delay ends, you could face serious consequences, including losing your tax refunds, a portion of your wages, and even some of your Social Security benefits. The government can take these steps without going to court, and there is no statute of limitations to collect this debt.
Take steps now to make sure your loans aren’t in default! If you are in default, act quickly to get out of default and avoid collections.
If you have defaulted on your federal student loans and you receive Social Security Disability or retirement benefits, the federal government may withhold up to 15% of your benefits each month to pay back your student loan debt, as long as your remaining monthly benefit stays above $750. This is called an offset. The offset continues until your defaulted loan is paid in full, you are removed from default, or you are able to get the Department of Education to stop the offset.
The government can’t take Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Veterans Benefits to collect your defaulted student loan debt.
One of the best ways to avoid or stop collections is to get your loans out of default. You can get your loans out of default by: 1) rehabilitating your defaulted loans by making 9 monthly full, on-time, agreed to affordable payments, 2) consolidating your loans into a new Direct Consolidation Loan, or 3) successfully applying to discharge or cancel your loans via a statutory cancellation program.
The government should send you a notice before your benefits are taken. After your loan enters default and becomes eligible for collections, you should get an initial 65-day notice from the Department explaining the actions the government can take to collect the default student loans. See our page on default notices for more information about what to do if you get one of these notices.
You should also get a second notice before your Social Security benefits are taken. The government will send you a more detailed warning letter at least 30 days before the offset occurs, letting you know when the offset will begin, the amount of offset, and the contact information for the federal agency to which the debt is owed. If you act quickly to get your loans out of default, you may be able to stop collections from beginning.
If you want to see if you are on the list to have your benefits taken, or if you didn’t get a letter before your benefits were taken, call the Treasury Offset Program at 1-800-304-3107.
Remember, the notices are sent to your last known address on file with your loan servicer, so make sure your contact information is up to date.
Can I stop the government from taking my Social Security?
Potentially! If you get a letter from the federal government letting you know that your benefits will be taken to pay back your student loan debt, don’t ignore it.
There are a few ways you may be able to stop the government from taking your Social Security:
- If the government has not yet started offsetting your Social Security, and you recently received notice that the government is about to start offsetting your Social Security check, you must act quickly to remove your loans from default. If you act quickly, you may be able to stop collections from starting.
- If the government has already begun offsetting your Social Security to pay off your defaulted student loans, you can still take action to remove your loans from default, but the government may keep collecting until you fully remove your loans from default.
What if I can’t work due to a disability?
If you are not able to work due to a disability, you may be able to have your federal student loan debt canceled or forgiven through the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) program. There are a few ways you can qualify for TPD, but the easiest way is to have a medical professional fill out the TPD form confirming your disability. The TPD application is very easy to fill out and submit.
If you apply for TPD, you may be able to stop any collections while you wait for the Department of Education to review your application; however, you may need to write to your lender to inform them you’ve applied for TPD and attach a copy of your submitted TPD application.
For more information, see our page on applying for TPD loan forgiveness.
Can I stop an offset because of my financial hardship?
Maybe. In some cases, the government will stop an offset because it would leave you unable to afford basic life expenses, like rent, food, and medical costs. You may be able to submit a hardship request by calling the Default Resolution Group at 1-800-621-311. When you call, you should ask where you can submit a written request for financial hardship. You can also submit a hardship request by completing the form available here.
When submitting a financial hardship request, you should provide as much documentation as possible to show that you won’t be able to afford basic living expenses if the government takes your benefits. If the government grants your request, it may decide to reduce the offset amount or may completely stop the offset so that you can afford your basic living expenses.
When submitting an objection based on financial hardship, you should include:
- Proof of household income: pay stubs or tax returns for household income, including any income you, your spouse, and any dependents earn.
- Proof of expenses: copies of your monthly bills, including housing costs, car payments, insurance payments, child care costs, medical expenses, etc.
- Estimate of other expenses: estimate of how much you spend each month on food, clothing, and public transportation.
- Explanation of higher than average expenses: the government will compare how much you spend to the average standards set by the IRS to determine whether your expenses are reasonable. If your expenses are higher than the average, you should explain why.
Security offsets may be changing. There may be changes coming to the way the government collects student loan debts. Because of these changes, the steps you have to take to try to stop the government from taking your Social Security benefits may change as well. We will update this page as we get more information, but you can check for further updates on studentaid.gov.
For more information on the collection of federal student loan debt, visit the Federal Student Aid website page on collections.
