Some 20.5% of borrowers have a payment 90 days or more past due, compared with just 11.5% of borrowers in February 2020, per the report. “The current rate of delinquency represents the highest figure ever recorded,” it reads. And it could be more widespread than it looks.
“Withholding income from borrowers will unnecessarily exacerbate economic strains in local economies while New Yorkers worry about a tenuous economy and potential recession,” Gillibrand wrote. “I’m concerned that the timing could not be worse for any changes in student loan repayment policies.”
The Education Department is encouraging borrowers to make a payment, enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, or sign up for loan rehabilitation before they default. Though the Trump administration has fired Education Department workers and moved to dismantle it completely, the agency says it has increased customer service capacity to help borrowers.
The Education Department did not respond to Fortune‘s request for more information on how borrowers can get out of involuntary wage garnishment.
