Getting your loans out of default isn't necessarily easy, but it could save you from having your wages garnished.

Student loan collections restart May 5, 2025. Over 5 million borrowers could face wage garnishment if no action is taken.

When you default on your student loans, your debt is transferred out of the normal repayment servicing system. It enters “into what’s almost like the ‘bizarro land’ of the repayment system,” says Denten, “where it can be difficult to understand how to actually get yourself back on track and back into the status of making payments sustainably.”