\n<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon smiles during the signing event for an executive order to shut down the Department of Education next to U.S. President Donald Trump, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 20, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carlos Barria | Reuters<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
However, creditor agencies, including the Education Department, are required to warn borrowers of a possible upcoming offset about two months beforehand, the lawmakers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe purpose of that 60-day notice is to equip the student borrower with the necessary information to prevent the seizure of their tax refund or Social Security benefits,\u201d the congressmembers write.<\/p>\n
According to the Education Department\u2019s website<\/a>, borrowers will receive notice \u201cto inform you that the offset and negative credit reporting are scheduled to begin in 65 days.\u201d It also notes that 65-day timeframe in a section on actions borrowers can take after they receive a notice of intent to offset.<\/p>\n The agency did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some 10 million student borrowers are already, or soon may be, in default and are at risk of getting their tax refund seized, according to the lawmakers\u2019 letter.<\/p>\n The Education Department website states that the offset notice \u201cmay only be sent once.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers wrote in their letter that it appears the Trump administration may consider any warning of intent to offset a benefit or tax refund \u2014 even if it was issued years ago and before the pandemic \u2014 sufficient to satisfy its requirement for notice.<\/p>\n Legally, that may be the case, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. However, he said, \u201cthere is no precedent where there was a delay of several years between the time the U.S. Department of Education issued a notice of intent to offset and when the offset occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n More from Personal Finance:<\/strong> The department\u2019s failure to give some borrowers recent notice of offsets raises concerns about the accuracy of its latest data on borrowers\u2019 \u201ctrue outstanding balance\u201d and contact information, the lawmakers write. The Trump administration\u2019s\u00a0termination<\/a> in March of\u00a0nearly half of the staff at the Education Department, including many of the people who assisted borrowers in the Federal Student Aid office, may be exacerbating the problem.<\/p>\n \u201cMany borrowers have likely gotten married; moved across state lines; become parents of dependent children; or have suffered drastic misfortunes that aren\u2019t reflected in their individual profiles with the now-gutted FSA,\u201d the congressmembers wrote.<\/p>\n According to their letter, \u201cThe Department should consider borrowers\u2019 potential life changes as an additional responsibility for issuing a renewed notice before collecting on a defaulted student loan.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n10 million student loan borrowers could be at risk<\/h2>\n
Trump administration to warn families about student debt risks<\/a>
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These college majors have the best job prospects<\/a><\/p>\n
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