If you are an employee of the federal government, you may recently have received from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) a Notice of Salary Offset. Your rights and responsibilities are outlined in the insert included with that notice and in ED's regulations.

You may avoid offset of your wages one of two ways:

1. Enter into a voluntary repayment agreement that is acceptable to ED, or
2. Prove that you do not owe or should not have to repay the debt

Repaying Your Debt Voluntarily

In order to avoid offset of your federal salary or wages, you must enter into an approved repayment plan and make your first payment within 65 days of the date of ED's Notice of Salary Offset.

In general, ED will require that you make payments that are at least equal to 15% of your disposable pay. To establish a payment plan for this amount:

1. Estimate 15% of your disposable pay
2. Begin sending that amount immediately to:

US Department of Education
P.O. Box 5227
Greenville, Texas 75403

If possible, please enclose the detachable coupon at the top of the notice you received. Be sure to include your name and social security number on your check or money order. To make payment by credit card, please call ED at 800-621-3115.

3. Send a letter stating your request to make a voluntary repayment agreement and copies of your four most recent leave and earnings statements to:

US Department of Education
P.O. Box 5227
Greenville, Texas 75403

Make sure your name and social security number are in your letter.

Hardship: If you Cannot Afford to Pay 15% of your disposable pay

You may feel that making payments equal to 15% of your disposable pay will cause you an extreme financial hardship by preventing you from meeting the cost of food, housing, clothing, essential transportation, and medical care for you and your dependents. If you want to object on this ground, you must:

1. Propose an amount that you feel you can afford to pay each month. Begin sending that amount immediately to:

US Department of Education
P.O. Box 5227
Greenville, Texas 75403

If possible, please enclose the detachable coupon at the top of the notice you received. Be sure to include your name and social security number on your check or money order. To make payment by credit card, please call ED at 800-621-3115.

2. Complete a financial information statement and return it to:

US Department of Education
P.O. Box 5227
Greenville, Texas 75403

You may download a copy of this now or obtain one by calling ED at 800-621-3115

Disputing the Debt

In order to avoid offset of your salary or wages, you must prove to ED that you do not owe or should not have to repay the debt within 65 days of ED's Notice of Salary Offset

There are several grounds upon which you can dispute your responsibility for a federal student loan. These are described in detail on the disputes page of this web site. Follow the instructions for "what to do" for each type of dispute.