Government: You won't be cuffed for student loan defaults

WASHINGTON (AP) — It won't help your credit history, but defaulting on student loans will not earn you a one-way ticket to jail.

That word comes from the Education Department in a blog post that advises students they won't be put behind bars for missing payments.

On its blog, the department says loan servicers work for almost a year to contact borrowers in trouble. As a last resort, the loans are referred to the Justice Department for collection via the courts — something required by law.

The post about student loans follows the arrest in February of a Houston man who had defaulted years ago on a student loan dating back to 1987. But he was arrested for failing to appear in court, not because he missed payments.