Senior citizens still owe $36 billion in student loans
Last edited Tue Apr 3, 2012, 04:17 AM - Edit history (1)
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/320-80/10761-senior-citizens-continue-to-bear-burden-of-student-loansNew research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that Americans 60 and older still owe about $36 billion in student loans, providing a rare window into the dynamics of student debt. More than 10 percent 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.
That even seniors remain saddled with student loans highlights what a growing chorus of lawmakers, economists and financial experts say has become a central conflict in the nation's higher education system: The long-touted benefits of a college degree are being diluted by rising tuition rates and the longevity of debt.
Some of these older Americans are still grappling with their first wave of student loans, while others took on new debt when they returned to school later in life in hopes of becoming more competitive in the labor force. Many have co-signed for loans with their children or grandchildren to help them afford ballooning tuition.
The recent recession exacerbated this problem, making it harder for older Americans - or the youths they are supporting in school - to get good-paying jobs. And unlike other debts, student loans cannot be shed in bankruptcy. As a result, some older Americans have found that a college degree led not to a prosperous career but instead to a lifetime under the shadow of debt.
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I went to graduate school with her and she kept borrowing and borrowing until she could borrow no more.
She'd hoped to get these loans dismissed but it did not work.
Now she is stuck and I suspect they are taking portions of her Social Security check now as she never paid them.
I'm glad I did not fall into that trap is about all I can say.
As for said woman, she could have finished sooner but wanted to keep being a student forever. Now some 20 years later she relies on her kids for help as she doesn't have a dime to spare.
Don't you just love it? USA USA USA USA!!
That is what she has, Federally backed student loans gone delinquent.
I believe initially it was about $20,000.00 and now it is over $40,000.00 because of all of the interest accrued on said loans.
I kept telling her to make payments on them, even if they just covered the interest but she never did.
Last I heard she was working part-time in a restaurant. 
