Student loan debt is following some Americans into retirement

Photo illustration by ABNN

WASHINGTON (ABNN) - Sen. Bernie Sanders is moving to stop the federal government from taking Social Security payments from seniors and people with disabilities because of defaulted federal student loan debt.

The Vermont independent is introducing the Stop Social Security Garnishment Act of 2026, legislation that would prohibit the federal government from garnishing Social Security payments of any kind, including Social Security Disability Insurance.

For seniors already struggling with high prices, the issue is not just about student loans. It is about whether Social Security remains a lifeline or becomes another source of government collection.

"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," he added.

Sen. Bernie Sanders. Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

The bill comes as millions of Americans continue to carry student loan debt later in life. A Sanders fact sheet says nearly 43 million Americans hold $1.7 trillion in student debt, including more than 3 million Americans over the age of 62. It also says a record 9 million Americans are now in default on their student loans.

That means the student debt crisis is no longer only about young adults trying to start their careers. It is also about older Americans trying to survive on fixed income, people with disabilities relying on benefits and families still carrying loans decades after they first went to school.

The Sanders office says more than 1 in 3 Social Security recipients with student loans rely on their Social Security payments to get by. It also says half of Social Security beneficiaries who had a check garnished because of a defaulted student loan reported skipping a doctor's visit or being unable to obtain a needed prescription because of cost.

The issue also hits Black borrowers especially hard.

According to the Education Data Initiative, Black and African American college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than white college graduates. Four years after graduation, Black graduates owe an average of 88.3% more than white graduates.

That debt gap follows borrowers long after graduation. It can affect credit, homeownership, retirement savings and the ability to build wealth.

For Black families, that makes the Sanders bill about more than Social Security. It is about whether student loan debt will continue following people into retirement, disability and the years when a government benefit may be their main source of income.

Sanders says the federal government should not be taking money from seniors and people with disabilities who are already trying to cover basic needs.

The bill now puts that question before Congress: Should student loan debt be allowed to reach into Social Security checks, or should those benefits be protected for the people who depend on them most?