Growing balances could be a shock to their retirement plans
Student loan debt is growing at alarming rates for adults age 50 and older, according to a new report from AARP. Fifteen years ago, borrowers in this age group accounted for $47 billion of the nation’s student loan debt. By last year, that figure had grown to $289.5 billion.
Paying for higher education is becoming an intergenerational burden, ensnaring more older adults and delaying or battering the retirement plans of many of them. The report says that in 2015 approximately 29 percent of the 6.3 million borrowers ages 50-64 were in default, meaning payments on a loan were at least 270 days past due. And among the 870,000 people over age 65 who had student loan debt that year, 37 percent were in default, making it possible for the federal government to take up to 15 percent out of their monthly Social Security benefits.
