CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Trump administration pauses student loan wage garnishment, giving borrowers temporary relief
The Trump administration announced it will delay plans to garnish wages and seize tax refunds from student loan borrowers in default, providing millions with student loan debt some temporary relief.
I spoke with Joseph Ruiz, director of financial aid services at Del Mar College, to help break down what this latest pause
really means for borrowers.
"So what does this pause mean for borrowers right now?" Ruiz said.
Before this delay, borrowers could have faced forced collections with money taken directly from their paychecks or tax refunds.
"They're gonna start taking 10, up to 15 in some cases percent of your biweekly or monthly paycheck," Ruiz said.
In some cases, that money would have been pulled automatically.
"They were gonna just automatically withdraw that and apply it to the past due balance of the student loans," Ruiz said.
For many, the idea of losing part of their paycheck is already stressful.
"Nobody wants to get money taken out of their paychecks, especially forcibly," Ruiz said.
But even with this pause, experts want borrowers to know this is temporary relief, not permanent forgiveness.
"I would tell students not to relax. It's so important to get ahead of the game and start making payments now," Ruiz said.
Ruiz says there are options if you can't afford these payments right now, including income-based repayment plans, temporary forbearance or deferment, and reaching out to loan servicers for help.
Experts say this move by the Trump administration is giving borrowers a temporary pause, but not a pass. The advice is to use this time to understand your options before collections eventually resume.
"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
