Seniors Fastest Growing Group With Student Debt

The heavy burden of student debt is a serious problem for young adults today who should be entering their prime earning years; paying off mortgages and saving for retirement but a recent study reports that older adults, people over 50, are the fastest growing group with student debt.

The United States Government Accountability Office report, released December 20, found that in the last decade student debt for older adults between the ages of 50 and 64 has quadrupled to $183 billion.  Because of student loans, many adults are still paying off a four-year bachelor’s degree 20 years later and nearly 13 per cent of Americans will die still owing money on their student loans.

Changing careers in their 30s or 40s and taking out a loan to pay for college has left many seniors in debt entering retirement.  Parents have also taken out debt to help their children pay for a college education and with interest accruing rapidly, many will not be able to pay off the loan and will end up in default.  And in the United States, the law allows Social Security payments to be garnished to pay off defaulted student loans leaving many seniors living below the poverty line, reports CBC News.

To learn more about senior student debt visit the Wall Street Journal online here.