The U.S. Education Department has begun sending notices that administrative wage garnishment will resume for federal student-loan borrowers in default, putting roughly 5.3 million people at risk of having up to 15% of post-tax wages withheld. The move follows the end of pandemic-era pauses and earlier restarts of other collection tools; advocates warn it could deepen financial distress for borrowers already struggling with inflation and stagnant wages. In the UK, lawmakers are separately debating student-finance technical fixes such as monthly payment schedules to reduce students’ cash-flow stress — highlighting parallel policy pressures in borrower administration and repayment design across systems.