Aging Americans struggle to pay off student loans

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http://www.fayobserver.com/news/business/aging-americans-struggle-to-pay-off-student-loans/article_2f213ff7-ed20-56c7-9aab-debf3e2c5395.html



Rosemary Anderson of Watsonville, Calif., testifies Wednesday in Washington before the Senate Aging Committee hearing on older Americans and student loan debt.

Aging Americans struggle to pay off student loans
Posted: Thursday, September 11, 2014 12:25 am
Associated Press |

WASHINGTON - Rosemary Anderson could be 81 by the time she pays off her student loans. After struggling with divorce, health problems and an underwater home mortgage, the 57-year-old anticipates there could come a day when her Social Security benefits will be docked to make the payments.

Like Anderson, a growing percentage of aging Americans struggle to pay back their student debt. Tens of thousands of them even see their Social Security benefits garnished when they cannot do so.

Among Americans ages 65 to 74, 4 percent in 2010 carried federal student loan debt, up from 1 percent six years earlier, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday at a Senate Aging Committee hearing. For all seniors, the collective amount of student loan debt grew from about $2.8 billion in 2005 to about $18.2 billion last year.

Student debt for all ages totals $1 trillion.