The Department of Education said Tuesday that it will start garnishing wages next year for student loan borrowers who are in default.

The Trump administration ended the pause on student loan repayments in May that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, and began collecting on the debts by withholding tax refunds and other federal payments to those in default. 

The department said that it will begin sending notices to approximately 1,000 defaulted borrowers in the first week of January. The number of notices will then increase each month. There are currently 5 million borrowers in default. 

The government did not indicate how much of the borrowers' wages would be withheld because of the default, but the government is not allowed to garnish more than 15% of a person's wages. 

The department also did not specify when collection on the debts would begin, but said it could only begin after “student and parent borrowers have been provided sufficient notice and opportunity to repay their loans," according to The Hill.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.