Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a rally in support of the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Feb. 28, 2023.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is pitching a new bill to stop seniors from having money withheld from their Social Security checks due to unpaid federal student loan debt.
Sanders announced the proposal on Monday and will formally introduce the bill — called the Stop Social Security Garnishment Act — when the Senate is back in session next month, according to a spokesperson for the senator.
The bill is also backed by Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both of Massachusetts.
About 9.5 million borrowers are in default on their student loans, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data through March.
Nearly 1 in 4 borrowers cannot repay their loans and are at risk of having their wages or Social Security checks seized, according to Sanders’ announcement.
Sanders’ proposal comes as the Trump administration has paused involuntary collections for borrowers in default on federal student loans.
What’s happening with student loan collections
For student loan borrowers in default, the delay in collections may provide time for borrowers to rehabilitate their loans through repayments and get their loans out of default, the Education Department said in January.
Asked by CNBC about the status of the garnishment pause, an Education Department spokesperson referred to the January announcement.
What Sanders’ proposal may mean for older borrowers
Sanders’ proposal would ensure that Social Security retirement or disability benefits are not cut to repay outstanding student loan debt.
Older adults with student loans in default would be protected from forced collection of their benefit checks, ensuring they can continue to pay for basic needs such as healthcare, medicine and food, according to the proposal.
“In the richest country in the history of the world, no senior should have their Social Security payments taken away from them to pay back student debt,” Sanders said in a statement. “This is especially true when seniors throughout the country already cannot afford the skyrocketing price of healthcare, prescription drugs, groceries and housing.”
Around 9.6 million student loan borrowers are ages 50 and older, with nearly $457 billion in outstanding loans, according to second-quarter data from the Education Department.
