The New York Times, February 28, 2020: Retired, or Hoping to Be, and Saddled With Student Loans
Americans older than 60 are the fastest-growing group of college loan debtors — the vast majority of them borrowing for others — a consumer agency says.
In all, more than 2.8 million Americans over 60 are contending with student debt, a number that has quadrupled from 700,000 in 2005, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The cost is swelling, too: Between 2012 and 2017, for those age 60 and older, the average amount of student loan debt almost doubled, ballooning to $23,500 from $12,100.
Those numbers don’t surprise Persis Yu, director of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project. “We’re taught that sacrificing for our children is what we’re supposed to do,” she said. “What parent would say, ‘No, I’m not going to provide this opportunity for my child to go to college, even if it’s to my own financial detriment?’”
Parent Plus loans “basically fill the gap between what a child might qualify for on their own, which is usually not very much, and the cost of attendance,” said Jessica Ferastoaru of Take Charge America, a nonprofit provider of student loan counseling for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Often, a student will max out federal student loans before turning to private or Parent Plus loans. According to the Education Department, dependent students qualify for $5,500 to $7,500 in loans per year.
Dr. Trawinski said parents and grandparents should protect themselves before taking out loans by doing the math beforehand, factoring in what-ifs, like the death of a spouse. They can also protect themselves and urge children to attend less expensive schools. And they should know that if they ever need to declare personal bankruptcy, student loan debt cannot be discharged, or wiped away.
