New research has found that the number delinquent student loan borrowers is rising, as the federal government reinstates its debt collection strategies.Why It MattersCollections on student loans had mostly been halted since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. However, officials from the Trump administration have said that taxpayers shouldn’t bear the cost when borrowers fail to repay their education loans.Efforts to resume collections officially kicked off in May, with the Department of Education (ED) warning that if appropriate steps are not taken to resolve the issue, student loan borrowers will be subject to wage garnishment and could see their credit scores take a significant hit.It also comes as Republicans propose a vast overhaul to the federal loan repayment system as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is currently being considered by the U.S. Senate.What To KnowNew analysis by credit bureau TransUnion found that as of April, 31 percent of student loan borrowers, the highest ever recorded, with a payment due are classed as being in “late-stage delinquency,” meaning they have payments that are at least 90 days late. Two months earlier in February, 20.5 percent of borrowers were reported being three months late on payments.The April figure is now close to three times higher than the 11.7 percent rate recorded in February 2020, right before the pandemic began.Meanwhile, borrowers who have recently fallen into delinquency on their student loans have experienced sharp declines in their credit scores—on average, about 60 points, TransUnion reported.Many of these are not far off entering default status—270 days past due—on their repayments, at which point the ED can begin clawing back the debt through collection actions. Of the borrowers behind on their payments, only 0.3 percent are considered in default, TransUnion said.In April, the ED said that more than 5 million borrowers have not made a payment in more than 360 days and are currently in default, with many having been in that status for over seven years. Another 4 million are in late-stage delinquency, between 91 and 180 days past due.”Only 38 percent of borrowers are in repayment and current on their student loans,” the department said. “Most of the remaining borrowers are either delinquent on their payments, in an interest-free forbearance, or in an interest-free deferment.”What People Are SayingMichele Raneri, vice president and head of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion: “We continue to see more and more federal student loan borrowers being reported as the 90+ days delinquent, making a larger number of consumers vulnerable to entering default and the start of collections activities. That said, based on the relatively small increase between March 2025 and April 2025, it is possible that the figures are close to peaking. We will continue to analyze data in the weeks and months to come to see if that bears out.”U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in a Wall Street Journal piece in April: “Borrowers who don’t make payments on time will see their credit scores go down, and in some cases their wages automatically garnished.”The Department of Education said in an April 21 press release: “Resuming collections protects taxpayers from shouldering the cost of federal student loans that borrowers willingly undertook to finance their postsecondary education.”What Happens Next?Based on the TransUnion data, out of 5.8 million borrowers that are behind on payments, around 1.8 million—are projected to enter default in July. Another 1 million could follow in August, with 2 million more expected to default in September.Are you a student borrower in default worried about paying your loans back? Email a.higham@newsweek.com.