SOCIAL SECURITY GARNISHMENT: EFFECTS OF STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT ON SENIORS

Surprisingly, many senior citizens are facing harsh consequences for defaulting on their federal student loans. In addition to the government having the authority to garnish borrowers’ wages and withhold their tax returns for outstanding federal student loan debt, they also have the authority to garnish Social Security checks. This means that the amount of money a person normally expects to receive through his or her Social Security check and that they depend on can instantly be lowered.

The length of time that has passed since a former student graduated is often irrelevant when it comes to an outstanding student loan balance. In 2005, the United States Supreme Court decided that there was no statute of limitations that would prevent the government from collecting on an outstanding federal student loan debt through the use of Social Security offset. In certain cases, student loans may be forgiven or discharged after so many payments have been made. However, student loan forgiveness is rarely achieved.

The difficulties that arise in achieving this loan forgiveness are that the repayment plans must be strictly adhered to in all respects in order for a borrower to be eligible for forgiveness. If a borrower accidentally misses one payment or makes a late payment, regardless of their payment history, their eligibility for forgiveness may be postponed until they restart the repayment plan from the beginning and complete the plan without interruption. These repayment plans are typically twenty or twenty-five years in length. If one payment is made late, the twenty-five year repayment clock could start all over. Therefore, many people end up owing student loan debts well into their old age.

Student Loan Law Group recognizes that many senior citizens are facing penalties for an inability to repay student loans and need help to prevent Social Security garnishment. Attorneys with Student Loan Law Group can represent not only borrowers but also spouses of borrowers whose Social Security checks are being garnished in order to repay an outstanding federal student loan. Social Security garnishment occurs very soon after an initial notice of default and impending garnishment are sent to a borrower.

Borrowers must take immediate action to stop the garnishment from occurring by requesting a hearing. Borrowers are encouraged to be represented by a licensed attorney at such hearings because if a borrower fails to stop the garnishment at the first requested hearing on their own, they will likely face a minimum of nine months of garnishment prior to their next opportunity to end the garnishment. The longer a borrower waits to seek help from Student Loan Law Group, the tougher the fight is to end their garnishment. Borrowers who cannot afford to have their Social Security checks garnished should contact Student Loan Law Group immediately.