Here’s a thought I’d like to bounce off folks to see if I’m thinking correctly.  I have about $200k in PLUS debt.  That puts interest alone at about $1,317 per month.  I’m not entirely clear on how much my pay can be garnished, 15% or 25%.  Anyway, defaulting means that I would, in fact, go onto a sort of ICR/IBR payment arrangement since my payment is limited by pay, regardless of what I owe. 

It appears that if the most that can be garnished is 15%, I need to earn $8,780 per month more than the amount that I can earn free of garnishment for it to make sense to not default and if the most is 25%, then my monthly income would need to be $5,268 more than the amount that can be earned free of garnishment for it to make sense to continue to make payments and not default. 

What am I missing?