Student loan defaults are up to a record high, with 9.5 million borrowers in default, meaning they are more than 270 days behind on loan payments, according to data from the Office of Federal Student Aid. The near-10 million borrowers in default represent a record-high and nearly double the number in default at the nadir of a pandemic-prompted moratorium on student loan payments enacted by former President Joe Biden. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AGREES TO SPEED UP STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS UNDER NEW COURT DEALThe 9.5 million defaulted borrowers represent more than 20% of all federal student loan borrowers. Of the $1.7 trillion of federally-backed student loans in the U.S., $233.3 billion is in default, according to the Office of Federal Student Aid data. TRUMP ADMIN STARTS SENDING NOTICES TO STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS IN DEFAULT AHEAD OF WAGE GARNISHMENTBut following a Republican attorneys general-led effort, a federal appeals court terminated the SAVE Plan, a Biden-built program that lowered repayment rates for student loan borrowers and which 7.5 million Americans had signed up for.