Latest news with #U.S.DepartmentofTreasury
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US issues new Iran-related sanctions, Treasury website shows
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has issued a new round of Iran-related sanctions targeting 10 individuals and 27 entities, according to a post on the U.S. Department of Treasury website on Friday. The sanctions, which also target some entities in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, come as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is working to get a new nuclear deal with Tehran.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Benefits could be withheld from 5.3 million defaulted student loan borrowers, feds say
More than five million student loan borrowers who are behind on payments could face serious benefit consequences by the end of the summer. The U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday, May 5 that by the end of summer, 5.3 million defaulted student loan borrowers will receive a 30-day notice from the U.S. Department of Treasury, notifying them that they could lose federal benefits. About 195,000 defaulted student loan borrowers received this notice on Monday, and the first federal monthly benefit checks to be impacted are those scheduled for early June, a statement reads. "There's no such thing as forgiveness, just shifting the payment burden from one party to another. We will not force American taxpayers to take on the debts that are not theirs," Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in an X post in late April. "Borrowers should pay back the debts they take on." President Donald Trump first paused payments in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a pause that he later extended. Once former President Joe Biden was in office, his administration also issued multiple student loan payment pause extensions. Most borrowers were ordered to begin paying their loans back again in October 2023, the Department of Education said. But once Trump returned to office in January, his administration announced that the Department of Education would start collecting payments, specifically for defaulted federal student loans, on May 5. The Department of Education reported in April that only 38% of student loan borrowers are caught up on their student loan deadline: When do collections begin on defaulted student loans? What to know as deadline approaches The Department of Education's announcement, in tandem with the collection of student loan payments, will be "very challenging" for student loan borrowers, Rob Moore, Missouri State University's financial aid director, told USA TODAY on Wednesday. "A lot of these folks went for five years without making any payments on their student loans and there were questions about whether would ever need to," Moore said. As student loan borrowers are looking to understand how much money they owe and how they pay it, Moore said he's repeatedly heard that borrowers are facing "extended" phone wait times, often having to call multiple days in a row to get in contact with anyone at the Financial Student Aid office or their loan providers to answer questions. "I think that just contributes to the stress and anxiety and frustration that they're (student loan borrowers) feeling. When we start to implement these more punitive measures ... I think that escalates that emotion a little bit more," Moore added. A loan default occurs when a loan has not been paid for a certain amount of time, specified in a loan contract. In the case of student loans, a loan goes default after it hasn't been paid for at least 270 days, which is about nine months, according to the Department of Education's Federal Student Aid. A default is a part of the loan collection process and has consequences. When a student loan goes into default, borrowers may face a damaged credit score, legal action, asset seizure, higher insurance premiums, tax consequences or collection activities, like debt being sold to a collection agency, Federal Student Aid states. To check if you have a loan in default, log in to your Financial Student Aid account at or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. If accessing your account online, your Financial Student Aid dashboard will indicate if any loans are in default. The most straight forward way to get a loan out of default is by paying it in full. However, this isn't realistic for many borrowers. The Department of Education offers two alternatives: Loan rehabilitation: Agree to make nine "voluntary, reasonable and affordable" monthly payments within 20 days of a set due date and make all nine payments during a consecutive 10-month period. Loan consolidation: Consolidate existing student loans into a new consolidation loan and agree to make three consecutive, voluntary monthly payments before the loans are consolidated. Though the process of loan consolidation is quicker than loan rehabilitation, borrowers should be aware that accrued interest does get added to a new consolidation loan from former student loans. To learn more about loan rehabilitation and consolidation, visit the Federal Student Aid website at Contributing: Saleen Martin, USA TODAY Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 5.3 million defaulted student loan borrowers could lose benefits
See - Sada Elbalad
25-05-2025
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
US Envoy Promotes Peace, Development in Syria Following Sanctions Shift
Nada Mustafa U.S. Special Envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, stated that Washington and Damascus are set to move beyond sanctions and work toward investment, development, and the global promotion of a 'new and welcoming Syria.' This came during Barrack's meeting with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, following the Trump administration's directive to initiate the easing of sanctions on Damascus. In a statement cited by CNN, Barrack said, 'This meeting was held under the direction of President Trump to pave the way for peace and prosperity in Syria.' It is worth mentioning that, U.S. Department of Treasury announced yesterday that it had taken initial steps to ease the current sanctions imposed on Syria. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The U.S. will soon mint its last penny
The U.S. Department of Treasury said Thursday that it made its final order of blank pennies this month as its moves to end production of the one-cent coin. In Februrary, President Donald Trump ordered a halt to producing new pennies, which he posted would help "rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time." At the time it was not clear if the president had the authority to stop the minting of coins. A Treasury Department spokesperson told NBC News that "the United States Mint will continue to manufacture pennies while an inventory of penny blanks exists." The U.S. Mint said in its 2024 annual report that the cost of making the penny increased 20% that year. It currently costs 3.69 cents to make the one-cent coin. The Treasury Dept. says halting new penny production could lead to an "immediate annual savings of $56 million in reduced material costs." The U.S Mint also loses money making the nickel, with each 5-cent coin costing 13.78 cents to make. The department also notes that demand for the penny has drastically decreased, as Americans increasingly shift their payment habits to cards or digital services like Apple Pay. There are more than 114 billion pennies currently in circulation. This article was originally published on
USA Today
14-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Student loan debt collection restarts: How to avoid garnished wages, tax refund seizures
Student loan debt collection restarts: How to avoid garnished wages, tax refund seizures Show Caption Hide Caption Collection of defaulted student loans to resume May 5: What to know Since the pandemic, federal student loan borrowers have been mostly protected from the harshest consequences of defaulting. That's about to change on May 5. Student loan borrowers who haven't paid their debt now face seeing their wages garnished, Social Security benefits reduced, and more as debt collection resumes in 2025. A five-year break that began as part of economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic ends in 2025 for student loan borrowers. For five years, student loan borrowers who consistently couldn't pay their bills did not face the threat of debt collection. But all that extra breathing room is now gone. About 195,000 borrowers who haven't paid their student loan bills for at least nine months received a 30-day official notice the week of May 5 from the U.S. Department of Treasury notifying them that their federal benefits checks will be cut in early June. Later this summer, the Education Department said, all 5.3 million defaulted borrowers will receive a 30-day notice their wages will be garnished to cover their long unpaid student debt. Loan collection has been on pause since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Borrowers in default are being urged to contact the Education Department's default resolution group to make a monthly payment, enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, or sign up for loan rehabilitation. "This may be one of the largest groups of people to simultaneously go into default at the same time," said Kathryn Ellywicz, a former financial counselor at GreenPath Financial Wellness, a national, nonprofit counseling and debt management group based in Farmington Hills. Dealing with debt collection will be a massive headache for many as paychecks will be dinged, tax refunds will be confiscated, and even Social Security benefits are at risk of being taken to cover that unpaid college debt. But there are some steps that can be taken to better manage the pain. The good news is that many borrowers still can take action to avoid debt collection by opting for a pathway out of default. The challenge, and advocates say it's a serious one, is that many borrowers will find it much tougher to reach someone at the Education Department after the Trump administration cut the staff nearly in half. "What we're hearing from borrowers is that they're having a very hard time actually taking advantage of those rights. Their calls are getting dropped. They're getting bounced around. They're waiting on hold for hours," said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Borrowers will need to do more work, possibly making repeated calls, to get on track. Pierce said many will need to contact their congressional representative to get the ball rolling, if they run into consistent problems. Members of Congress have caseworkers who help constituents experiencing issues with a federal agency. His group offers tips online for how to ask for help at Student loan debt: Seriously delinquent student loan borrowers hit record high and climbing, TransUnion says What's concerning is that many people who are in default only took some classes in college and don't have college degrees or good paying jobs now, Pierce said. They will need some way to resolve the issue so that their wages or tax refunds aren't taken as part of debt collection. Many borrowers with lower student loan balances would have seen their student loans forgiven under former President Joe Biden's debt forgiveness plan. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked that effort, which called for forgiving up to $10,000 — or in some cases, up to $20,000 — of federal student loan debt for individual borrowers. What it takes for student loans to fall into default We're typically talking about 270 days of nonpayment for many federal student loan servicers to consider a loan to be in default. Essentially, you'd need to have not made a payment for roughly nine months. Check the terms of your specific student loans. Federal student loans enter default after 270 days of missed payments, but transfer to the Department of Education's default collections program after 360 days. The site notes: "If you're over 360 days delinquent, your loans may be in default." The site gives you a spot to log in to see whether your loans are in default. Mark Kantrowitz, a student loan expert and author, noted that 7 million borrowers were in default on their federal student loans prior to the pandemic. But about 2 million of those borrowers signed up for the one-time "Fresh Start" initiative offered by the Education Department to return their loans to a current status. Borrowers had to sign up for that program by the end of September 2024. Signing up for "Fresh Start" enabled borrowers in default to return to good standing, improve their credit and then become eligible to sign up for a more affordable income-driven repayment plan. The number of borrowers in default is expected to grow because borrowers only had to resume paying their student loans back in October 2023. And borrowers who didn't pay had an extra year of grace. A temporary "on-ramp" to repayment took place from October 2023 through Sept. 30, 2024, to protect financially vulnerable borrowers who missed making federal student loan payments. No action was taken during that time that resulted in declaring a loan in default. During that 12-month window, the Education Department did not report delinquent payments to the credit bureaus. But it was not a free ride: Interest continued to accrue. "Since it takes 270 days of nonpayment for a loan to go into default, the soonest someone new could go into default is June 27, 2025," Kantrowitz noted. A U.S. Department of Education release gives an alarming estimate for how many borrowers could be in default ahead, indicating that "4 million borrowers are in late-stage delinquency (91-180 days). As a result, there could be almost 10 million borrowers in default in a few months." But Kantrowitz, who has tracked student loan debt for decades, said the estimates "about borrowers on the cusp of default are an exaggeration." He said historical data demonstrates that most of these 4 million borrowers will not proceed to default, and seek other options to avoid default. How to check student loan status Ellywicz, the former GreenPath Financial Wellness financial counselor, told me that borrowers who haven't paid their student loan bills in the past five years need to take a deep breath now and prepare to take some action. "It can be overwhelming to integrate a payment back into your budget, especially when it's been years since you've paid," Ellywicz said. She recommends going to to figure out how much you owe, who your loan servicer is, and how to apply for income-based repayment plans that can lower your monthly payments to make them more affordable. "Unfortunately, interest charges did begin again in October 2023, so you may owe more than you remember," she said. It is important to note, she said, that income-based repayment plans for student loans are available again. The application was briefly removed from the website, but it is back now. Do not pay for help: The Education Department is warning about potential scams. "If you are contacted by a company asking you to pay "enrollment," "subscription," or "maintenance" fees to help you get out of default," the Education Department states, "you should walk away. Your loan holder will help you with your defaulted loan for free." What happens if you're in default Once a federal student loan is in default, Ellywicz said, servicers can start the process of wage garnishment. The Education Department is not going to need to take any legal action before taking a portion of your paycheck directly. The Education Department will send a certified letter to your last known address before reaching out to your employer to garnish your wages. You'd have 30 days' notice. Later this summer, according to the Education Department, the Office of Federal Student Aid will send the required notices beginning administrative wage garnishment. It's essential to read that notice carefully. Borrowers who know that they've not made payments on student debt for many months should start talking to their loan servicers, credit counseling agencies and others. Address the problem head-on. "We understand it may feel shameful to be facing default or wage garnishment, but communicating now will likely help you find a solution that you didn't know existed," Ellywicz said. GreenPath Financial Wellness, a nonprofit group, offers counseling for those who face trouble paying their student debt, as well as other financial headaches. The two main ways to get out of default are rehabilitating your loans or consolidating your loans. "A final option to avoid wage garnishment is to pay the debt in full, which is likely not realistic for most people," Ellywicz said. Kantrowitz noted that borrowers can rehabilitate defaulted loans through making nine out of 10 consecutive, on-time, full, voluntary, reasonable and affordable payments or through loan consolidation as part of a loan rehabilitation agreement. The Education Department notes that depending on a borrower's income, payments under a loan rehabilitation agreement could be low as $5 a month. Consolidation is quicker, Kantrowitz said, but it does not remove the default from the borrower's credit history, and interest and collection costs may be added to the outstanding loan balance. Borrowers who rehabilitate their federal student loans through consolidation may also be restricted to an income-driven repayment plan, which Kantrowitz said isn't necessarily a bad option. The Education Department said it will offer support to assist borrowers in selecting the best repayment plan, including a new Loan Simulator, AI Assistant called Aidan, and extended servicers call times. An enhanced Income-Driven Repayment process will simplify the time that it will take borrowers to enroll, according to the Education Department, and eliminate the need for borrowers to re-certify their income every year. Your college is supposed to reach out about your loans U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is urging all colleges and universities that receive federal funding assistance to reach out to all former students by June 30 to remind them of their obligation to repay any federal student loan that is not in deferment or forbearance. In case you missed it: Average FICO Score dips as student debt borrowers fall into severe delinquency McMahon took time to blame many schools for saddling "students with enormous debt loads without paying enough attention to whether their own graduates are truly prepared to succeed in the labor market." How much of a paycheck can be garnished to cover student loan debt Through administrative wage garnishment, Kantrowitz said, the Education Department can require employers to send it up to 15% of a borrower's disposable pay to repay the defaulted loans. Disposable income is calculated after taxes and other legal obligations. The borrower, he noted, must be left with at least 30 times the federal minimum wage, now $7.25 per hour, after the garnishment. Doing the math, we're talking about $217.50 a week. Borrowers can request a hearing to challenge the wage garnishment and offset based on financial hardship. Kantrowitz said the most common challenge involves having involuntarily lost your job less than 12 months ago. Other challenges, he said, include proving that the debt was paid in full, proving that the debt was discharged in bankruptcy, demonstrating that a bankruptcy proceeding is currently pending, which blocks collection activity until the bankruptcy proceedings are over. Another challenge to wage garnishment involves demonstrating that you are totally and permanently disabled. Student loan debt can take your tax refund If your federal student loans are in default, it is possible to see all of your federal income tax refund used as an offset to repay defaulted federal student loans. If you've already received your tax refund for your 2024 federal income tax return, you're not going to lose that money. But someone who obtained an automatic extension and delayed filing faces more risk of losing your 2024 tax refund if their student loans are in default. Though, Kantrowitz said, some borrowers may subsequently adjust their withholdings to reduce the amount of their 2025 federal income tax refund that may be offset. Same if you are receiving Social Security benefits The Education Department can use the offset of Social Security benefits to collect the outstanding balance when borrowers default on their federal student loans, too. Among the borrowers who are likely to experience forced collections are an estimated 452,000 borrowers ages 62 and older with defaulted loans who are likely receiving Social Security benefits, according to a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Currently, $750 per month of Social Security income is protected from that offset. "It is unfortunate because the recipient of Social Security may need that money to pay for living expenses, such as food, housing and medicine," Kantrowitz said. "If Social Security is their sole source of income, they may be living under the poverty line as the result of the Treasury Offset," he said. Going into default will hurt You're looking at a significant drop in your credit score if your student loans are in default. You also lose eligibility to receive federal student aid while their loans are in default. You're unable to change repayment plans and request deferment and forbearance, and you're up against the forced collections of tax refunds. Options to avoid student loan default If you're have trouble paying our student loans but have not yet defaulted, review your options now. Are you dealing with a short financial difficulty? Maybe a medical or maternity or paternity leave? Or temporary unemployment? If so, Kantrowitz suggests considering the economic hardship deferment, unemployment deferment, cancer deferment or a general forbearance to suspend the repayment obligation while you fix your financial situation. This is not a good idea if there's no end in sight for your financial difficulties. "Interest may continue to accrue during a deferment or forbearance, increasing the amount of debt, so deferments and forbearances are not a long-term solution," Kantrowitz said. Are you dealing with a long-term financial problem? If so, Kantrowitz said, you should consider switching into a different repayment plan, such as extended or income-driven repayment. You have more options before you go into default. Repayment plans reduce the monthly payment by increasing the repayment term to 20 years or 25 years — up from the 10 years for repayment under a standard term. You'd likely see a more affordable monthly payment, which makes it easier to avoid default. The downside is that this strategy increases the total cost of the loan. "Income-driven repayment bases the monthly payment on a percentage of discretionary income, as opposed to the amount you owe," Kantrowitz said. Discretionary income is income minus a multiple of the poverty line. In addition, he said, borrowers should sign up for autopay, where the monthly loan payment is automatically transferred from their bank account to the loan servicer. "Not only will they be less likely to be late with a payment, but most lenders provide a small interest rate reduction, typically 0.25%, as an incentive," he said. Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@ Follow her on X @tompor.
