The Trump administration warned that Social Security benefits could be garnished for defaulted student loans as early as June.
Some Social Security beneficiaries may find their June check is smaller: Starting this month, a share of people's benefits can be garnished if they've defaulted on their student loans.
The Trump administration announced on April 21 that the U.S. Department of Education would resume collection activity on the country's $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio.
More than 450,000 federal student loan borrowers age 62 and older are in default on their federal student loans and likely to be receiving Social Security benefits, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found.
Many Social Security recipients rely on those checks for most, if not all, of their income.
Federal student borrowers should have received at least a 30-day warning before their Social Security benefit is offset, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
Another route to stop the offset of Social Security benefits is getting current on the loans, said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit. »