Student loan debt is usually thought of as a young person’s
problem. Those who earned their degrees in 2010 graduated with
what was then a highest-ever average of $25,250 in student
loans, and considering that education costs are rising, the jobs
market is especially bad for young people, and parents feel less
able to help pay for their kids’ college nowadays, student loan
debt can only get bigger. It’s not hard to imagine a future in
which an alarming number of Americans still aren’t out of
student loan debt even as they become old enough to collect
Social Security. Actually, that future is already here. Using
data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a Washington
Post story focuses on how student loans are placing a burden not
just on America’s young—nothing new there—but on America’s
seniors as well. The data indicates Americans ages 60 and over
collectively owe $36 billion in student loans. About 5% of the
$85 billion delinquent student loans in the U.S. is owed by
borrowers ages 60 and over, and an