Since the pandemic, federal student loan borrowers have been mostly protected from the harshest consequences of defaulting. That's about to change.

The U.S. Department of Education said on Monday it will resume collecting federal student repayments from borrowers in default from May 5 after a pause of more than five years. The resumption will impact more than 5 million borrowers who are in default,

WASHINGTON — The Education Department will begin collecting next month on student loans that are in default, including the garnishing of wages for potentially millions of borrowers, officials said Monday. Currently, roughly 5.3 million borrowers are in default on their federal student loans.