Hey, I was wondering if anyone knows whether pensions can be garnished for federal student loan debt? I was chatting with someone online, and they mentioned something about it, but I wasn’t sure if that’s actually possible. I haven’t had any notice about garnishment yet, but just wanted to ask around and see if anyone has experience with this?
Yeah, pensions can be garnished for federal student loans, but it’s not like they can just take everything. It’s typically around 15% of your disposable income, including pension payments.
Joss said:
Yeah, pensions can be garnished for federal student loans, but it’s not like they can just take everything. It’s typically around 15% of your disposable income, including pension payments.
I didn’t know they could do that with pensions too. Thought it was just for wages. Good to know!
@Lennon
Yep, it’s part of the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). It can also apply to your Social Security benefits, but not SSI.
Oh wow, I’m dealing with this issue too. The lawyer I spoke to said the government can take up to 15% of your Social Security benefits if you’re in default. It’s the same for pensions, I guess.
Peyton said:
Oh wow, I’m dealing with this issue too. The lawyer I spoke to said the government can take up to 15% of your Social Security benefits if you’re in default. It’s the same for pensions, I guess.
Oh man, that sounds rough. I haven’t had any notice yet, so I guess that’s a good sign for now. But good to know what could happen.
I think you can also get the lawyer to help out if you’re worried. They might be able to do something to prevent it from happening. Just a thought!
Yan said:
I think you can also get the lawyer to help out if you’re worried. They might be able to do something to prevent it from happening. Just a thought!
Good idea. I’ll definitely look into that. Didn’t think about getting a lawyer involved.
I’ve read that if you don’t get any notice, then it’s probably not happening yet. But you still wanna keep track of things in case they try to start garnishment later.
Tavi said:
I’ve read that if you don’t get any notice, then it’s probably not happening yet. But you still wanna keep track of things in case they try to start garnishment later.
Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on it. Fingers crossed it doesn’t come to that.
Just FYI, garnishment like this usually comes after defaulting on your loans, so as long as you’re staying on top of payments, it might not be an issue.
Niko said:
Just FYI, garnishment like this usually comes after defaulting on your loans, so as long as you’re staying on top of payments, it might not be an issue.
Good to know. I’m still keeping up with my payments, so hopefully I won’t run into this problem.