how much can a bill collector garnish you?

Question

my student loan is in default and they want me to pay more than i can afford. I'm thinking if they garnish me they will get less than they want me to pay. What percentage can they take from you pay. I"m in Va

Answer 1

The rules are a mix of federal and state laws. Here is the general federal rule regarding garnishment.
"The general federal rule is that a garnishment may not exceed either 25 percent of disposable earnings or whatever an employee earns that's in excess of 30 times minimum wage, whichever is less. And what are disposable earnings? Everything the employee earns after required deductions, such as FICA and taxes, but before such voluntary deductions as union dues, contributions to retirement accounts, health insurance premiums and so forth, says Humphrey. Some states may set the limits lower than that." From http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_6_50/ai_n13826264
Here's information for your particular state:
http://www.dli.state.va.us/whatwedo/labor_law/garnsupp_faq.html
http://www.gentrylocke.com/news_articles/article_detail.php?article_ID=11

Answer 2

It's different from state to state and also from loan type to loan (yes, even among student loans as there are many different programs available). Your best bet is to actually call the bank where the loan is held (or loan program administrator) and talk with them on working this out. Most banks have loan-workout departments who do just this and it is in yours and the banks best interest to work out a payment plan rather than form them to write the loan off and throw the book at you. If I were you, I'd take up another part time job until you get this straightened out. Good luck to you.