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Imagine being ready for retirement but still making payments on your own or your child's student loan debt.
Depressing fact of the week: About $36 billion of our nation's burgeoning student loan debt is owed by people 60 and older.
That stunning fact from research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was reported this week by The Washington Post, which added:
More than 10% of those loans are delinquent. As a result, consumer advocates say, it is not uncommon for Social Security checks to be garnished or for debt collectors to harass borrowers in their 80s over student loans that are decades old.
Total U.S. student loan debt in the third quarter of last year was $870 billion -- compared with the $693 billion owed on credit cards. "Of the 241 million people in the United States who have a credit report with Equifax, our data provider, about 15.4% -- or 37 million -- hold outstanding student loan debt," says the Federal Reserve.
As you would expect, younger people are carrying the bulk of that debt.People under 30 owe 34% of the total.
Depressing fact of the week: About $36 billion of our nation's burgeoning student loan debt is owed by people 60 and older.
That stunning fact from research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was reported this week by The Washington Post, which added:
More than 10% of those loans are delinquent. As a result, consumer advocates say, it is not uncommon for Social Security checks to be garnished or for debt collectors to harass borrowers in their 80s over student loans that are decades old.
Total U.S. student loan debt in the third quarter of last year was $870 billion -- compared with the $693 billion owed on credit cards. "Of the 241 million people in the United States who have a credit report with Equifax, our data provider, about 15.4% -- or 37 million -- hold outstanding student loan debt," says the Federal Reserve.
As you would expect, younger people are carrying the bulk of that debt.People under 30 owe 34% of the total.
- Those 30-39 owe nearly 33%.
- The 40-49 group owes 16.4%.
- Those 50-59 owe 11.3%.
- Those 60 and older owe 4.2%.
It's unclear how many of the people 60 or older are still carrying debt from their early 20s, how many went back to school at a later age, and how many co-signed a student loan for a child or grandchild.
About that, we say: If you're asked to co-sign a private student loan, think twice, and if the answer is still yes, think again and say no. There are alternatives for your young student. As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes, "The most common federal student loans don't require a co-signer."
Don't burden your old age with a debt that generally can't be discharged in bankruptcy and will stay with you until your dirt nap.
- Smart Spending on the go: Get our app for Android phones or iPhones
About one-quarter of borrowers owe more than $28,000; about 10% of borrowers owe more than $54,000. The proportion of borrowers who owe more than $100,000 is 3.1%, and 0.45% of borrowers, or 167,000 people, owe more than $200,000.
