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Are millions of Americans aged over 60 paying off student loans?

Monday, November 30, 2020
By Ramon Rodriguez
YES

In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimated that 2.8 million Americans aged 60 and over were carrying student debt. The figure was up from 700,000 in 2005. Nearly 40% of borrowers over 65 were in default, the bureau reported. The bureau said that in 2014 73% of older borrowers were paying for the education of children or grandchildren.

State-by-state estimates of the total burden in a 2017 bureau report added up to an outstanding balance of $110 billion for Americans over 60 in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. The Congressional Budget Office reported that the total student debt balance in 2017 was $1.4 trillion.

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