June 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Education paused a plan to garnish Social Security checks to repay defaulted student loans.

The Department of Education confirmed Tuesday it will not move forward with a previously-floated plan to garnish Social Security benefits for individuals who have defaulted on student loans.

Borrowers who have defaulted on their federal student loans will no longer be at risk of having their Social Security benefits garnished, an Education Department spokesperson said Tuesday.