Senior citizens owe $18 billion in student loans

[dewilson58]

Can't blame the kids for all the delinquent student loans!!!

When they should be worrying about affording retirement, a growing number of seniors are drowning in student loan debt instead.

Senior citizens owe $18 billion in student loan debt - Sep. 10, 2014 (http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/10/pf/college/seniors-student-loans/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_latest+%28Latest+ News%29)

[billethkid]

I was one of the honest ones and paid for mine.....AS PROMISED!!!!

The shear magnitude only underscores a growing issue in this country getting worse everyday....ENFORCEMENT! The very obvious lack of it in almost everything that gets done (OR NOT!)

[janmcn]

Student loans are loans that are never forgiven. The article doesn't state anything about enforcement. It's inconceivable that someone could get to senior status and still have this hanging over their heads. What did these people do all these years when they were denied mortgages and credit cards? Every penny a person makes is subject to being garnished, including social security checks and tax refunds.

[tedquick]

I was one of the honest ones and paid for mine.....AS PROMISED!!!!

The shear magnitude only underscores a growing issue in this country getting worse everyday....ENFORCEMENT! The very obvious lack of it in almost everything that gets done (OR NOT!)

Amen, Kid. Amen!! I, too, paid mine, on time, every time, even though I had to give up many things, for a number of years, in order to get that done. While you and I do not need pats on our backs for doing that which we had agreed to do, it is unlikely that we will ever understand those who decide NOT to do what they had agreed to do. "Enforcement" is a quite applicable word.

[VT2TV]

It's not to late to start enforcing them. I am sure there are people who can't afford to repay their loans on a retirement income, but planty of people who are retired can certainly pay. For those who can't.....I can be nice and say to just let the loans go, or to start paying 1.00-10.00/month. Or I can be hard core and say...when the person passes away to have the government be paid first before the heirs.If they are not going to start enforcing them, they should stop giving them out-it is not fair to others to have some people get free money that way. My opinion.

[Indydealmaker]

I wonder how many of these loans are the result of student loans co-signed by parents?

[KeepingItReal]

I wonder how many of these loans are the result of student loans co-signed by parents?

No doubt some to many are but does it really matter? If you sign for it you should be prepared to pay it and you are saying you will pay it if someone else does not..

[Indydealmaker]

No doubt some to many are but does it really matter? If you sign for it you should be prepared to pay it and you are saying you will pay it if someone else does not..

It only matters from the standpoint that, by non-payment of their loans, the students are putting their parents in financial hardship. That seems to get glossed over in this issue.

More needs to be done to insure that those who benefited from the loans are more pressured to pay rather than turning so quickly to the guarantors. After all, the kids have more years to satisfy the debt.

The average student loan debt is around $25k (price of a modest new car). This is manageable if the kids had the discipline to forgo the fun things until their debts were handled, particular if that discipline got their parents off the hook.

[Bubble Gum]

So what happens when a parent signs for his son or daughter's student loan and the parent dies?

[Indydealmaker]

So what happens when a parent signs for his son or daughter's student loan and the parent dies?

Kid remains on the hook until he dies. If the loan was a government loan, you get to pay.

[Taltarzac725]

I am still paying off my Law School student loans little-by-little. I graduated 25 years ago in 1989 from the University of Minnesota. My 224 613 Project is a hobby and takes up time and money. It did allow me to request that the holder of my Stipend Grant-- the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE)-- apply the time and work I did for this Project to the loan I owed them for going to the University of Denver Graduate School of Librarianship and Information Management in 1983-1984. I had done this 224 613 Project from Minnesota, Florida, Illinois and California but showed WICHE how it had affected Nevadans by writing WICHE a number of letters from 1998 through 2000 or so.

I should have this loan paid off through by the time I turn 65. Little by little though.

If I could just turn this worthwhile hobby of the 224 613 Project into some way of also making some money. So far, it has just cost me a lot of money, contacts, and time to do this.

[graciegirl]

When you don't pay a bill, it is the same as stealing.

[Taltarzac725]

When you don't pay a bill, it is the same as stealing.

That is a little simplistic approach. There are people who get into various problems for whatever reason who cannot pay some of their bills. I remember representing a man who defrauded a bunch of friends of their life savings. This was while I was a Student Attorney. They sued, the Yale educated lawyer from one of the biggest firms in the Twin Cities pitched a very clever argument, and the people got nothing. I cannot go into the details even if I actually remembered them because of lawyer/client confidentiality.

My role was just to listen to the Yale lawyer argue as his client had been the employer of my client the released prisoner.

Basically these people just trusted the wrong friend. I will bet there are other stories like this of people making bad choices often because they lacked the education or contacts to make better choices.

[Chi-Town]

I paid off my student loan and thought nothing about it. I just assumed that it was a thing you do. When I started to hear about all the defaults and people were saying don't bother to pay them back, I thought what deadbeats they are.

[Taltarzac725]

I paid off my student loan and thought nothing about it. I just assumed that it was a thing you do. When I started to hear about all the defaults and people were saying don't bother to pay them back, I thought what deadbeats they are.

If they have the money, I agree with you. Another of my law school stories.

I flew into the Twin Cities for the first time around August 20, 1986. What happened do you think that first night? I get into an airport van carrying a group of people. The driver and I are alone after she drops various people off at their hotels and then takes me near the University of Minnesota. She asks me what I am going to study. I say law. Which she answers by going into an extremely long spiel about how she had been a nurse with a team of surgeons and nurses whom a lawyer had been able to successfully sue for medical malpractice. She had to find a new career due to the malpractice suit against her. I have no idea if this was judgment was justified or not. I will bet this former nurse had a lot of bills she no longer could afford. Her anger though kind of gave me the impression that she had been wronged in the malpractice case. It probably happens a lot more than justice would require that the better lawyer wins in a case even if the case is not all the strong.

[KeepingItReal]

According to the GAO in this link below (if you believe them) 80% of the student loans owed by elders was for their own education.

Student loans appear to be at the bottom on the priority list for payments, doubt many of these that still owe their student loans ever failed to pay their cable TV and I Phone bills. They knew that their service would be turned off immediately and there would be costs to turn them back on. Many chose to borrow more money than was really needed and used it for trips, cars, and most anything else they wanted so it is not really all educational expenses. Endless deferrals just makes people think they can just put them off until a better time which never comes and then they are in big trouble.

The GAO found that about 80 percent of the student loan debt by seniors was for their own education, while the rest was taken out for their children or other dependents. It said federal data showed that seniors were more likely to default on loans for themselves compared with those they took out for their children.

More seniors on hook for student loans - CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-seniors-on-hook-for-student-loans/)

[graciegirl]

That is a little simplistic approach. There are people who get into various problems for whatever reason who cannot pay some of their bills. I remember representing a man who defrauded a bunch of friends of their life savings. This was while I was a Student Attorney. They sued, the Yale educated lawyer from one of the biggest firms in the Twin Cities pitched a very clever argument, and the people got nothing. I cannot go into the details even if I actually remembered them because of lawyer/client confidentiality.

My role was just to listen to the Yale lawyer argue as his client had been the employer of my client the released prisoner.

Basically these people just trusted the wrong friend. I will bet there are other stories like this of people making bad choices often because they lacked the education or contacts to make better choices.

I didn't direct my comments at you, Tal. I understand and support your paying off your student debt.

[Bonnevie]

what scares me most about this is how contagious entitlement has become. These people will say they are too old to have to pay it and play the victim. All through there lives many have bought tvs, cars, etc. but now will cry fixed income or age and not expect to have to pay. BTW, I also took loans for college---twice, and paid them back quickly by living way below my means until it was done.

[graciegirl]

what scares me most about this is how contagious entitlement has become. These people will say they are too old to have to pay it and play the victim. All through there lives many have bought tvs, cars, etc. but now will cry fixed income or age and not expect to have to pay. BTW, I also took loans for college---twice, and paid them back quickly by living way below my means until it was done.

Imagine that. Some would never think of that. Good for you.

It wasn't easy, but OH HOW I TREASURE YOUR ETHICS.

[janmcn]

what scares me most about this is how contagious entitlement has become. These people will say they are too old to have to pay it and play the victim. All through there lives many have bought tvs, cars, etc. but now will cry fixed income or age and not expect to have to pay. BTW, I also took loans for college---twice, and paid them back quickly by living way below my means until it was done.

Did anybody read the article linked to this thread? There is no bugging out on a student loan. Every cent of income is subject to garnishment, including social security and tax refunds. Anyone who gets behind on their student loans has no credit worthiness, which means no credit cards, no mortgage, etc. In the end, the estate will be seized to settle this debt.

[Indydealmaker]

According to the GAO in this link below (if you believe them) 80% of the student loans owed by elders was for their own education.

Student loans appear to be at the bottom on the priority list for payments, doubt many of these that still owe their student loans ever failed to pay their cable TV and I Phone bills. They knew that their service would be turned off immediately and there would be costs to turn them back on. Many chose to borrow more money than was really needed and used it for trips, cars, and most anything else they wanted so it is not really all educational expenses. Endless deferrals just makes people think they can just put them off until a better time which never comes and then they are in big trouble.

The GAO found that about 80 percent of the student loan debt by seniors was for their own education, while the rest was taken out for their children or other dependents. It said federal data showed that seniors were more likely to default on loans for themselves compared with those they took out for their children.

More seniors on hook for student loans - CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-seniors-on-hook-for-student-loans/)



This is a very sad commentary on our generation. 30 to 40 years of unpaid loans?? Although I am sure that there are special circumstances for some, but $14B worth!

[mgjim]

I'm commenting on very little information but I am shocked that any seniors still have outstanding student loans. In my case, I paid as I studied and when the money gave out, I left college and was drafted a month later. During 23 years of active military service, I was able to complete a college degree and have never looked back. Any senior who still owes student loans after all this time should be ashamed.

[CFrance]

Our son (for his second college career) set up automatic deduction to pay his student loan. It came out first. He lived on what was left.

[Taltarzac725]

I'm commenting on very little information but I am shocked that any seniors still have outstanding student loans. In my case, I paid as I studied and when the money gave out, I left college and was drafted a month later. During 23 years of active military service, I was able to complete a college degree and have never looked back. Any senior who still owes student loans after all this time should be ashamed.

I have four degrees and did pay for most of these by work/study. living at home for college, and loans.

I pushed my 224 613 Project after I had lost my employment contract at the University of Minnesota Law Library. I was trying to be honest about a niche in practical information for survivors/victims I had discovered during the three year investigation into the murder of my English teacher's daughter on my birthday of 2-24 in 1976. This was while I was a student of this teacher at Earl Wooster High School in Reno, Nevada that Michelle Mitchell was murdered. They did arrest, try, and convict the wrong person which just came out due to a DNA test in 2014.

I earned those four degrees to do something about this niche but had got myself in a huge fight to be honest about this niche and how I discovered it.

This fight did lose me a lot of bridges for employment. I suppose some think I sound like a victim in this whole mess but I had managed to do a great deal of work using these four degrees and doing things from without the profession I studying so hard to get in. I have had to do this on my own dime though as well as that of my extended family.

I will bet there are many people who have had bad experiences which forced them to make tough choices. I just do not see the world in black and white.

[mgjim]

I have four degrees and did pay for most of these by work/study. living at home for college, and loans.

I pushed my 224 613 Project after I had lost my employment contract at the University of Minnesota Law Library. I was trying to be honest about a niche in practical information for survivors/victims I had discovered during the three year investigation into the murder of my English teacher's daughter on my birthday of 2-24 in 1976. This was while I was a student of this teacher at Earl Wooster High School in Reno, Nevada that Michelle Mitchell was murdered. They did arrest, try, and convict the wrong person which just came out due to a DNA test in 2014.

I earned those four degrees to do something about this niche but had got myself in a huge fight to be honest about this niche and how I discovered it.

This fight did lose me a lot of bridges for employment. I suppose some think I sound like a victim in this whole mess but I had managed to do a great deal of work using these four degrees and doing things from without the profession I studying so hard to get in. I have had to do this on my own dime though as well as that of my extended family.

I will bet there are many people who have had bad experiences which forced them to make tough choices. I just do not see the world in black and white.

You may not like this but I disagree. Many of us have had to overcome difficult circumstances but we still paid our obligations.

I worked my way through my first couple of years of college. When the money ran out, I had to leave school and I was promptly drafted. I served my time and then spent another 20+ years in the Army. During that time, I finished my education and when I retired, I was able to find a decent job. I even started my own business.

Two years after I opened my business, my wife became very ill and required an organ transplant. During the next couple of years, I spent most of my time and resources into getting her back to good health. Eventually I lost my business and, after a second transplant, I lost my wife. Through it all, I was able to meet my financial obligations.

Both of my sons have completed their education and their military service in the Army. Neither of them will have outstanding student loans and they will both be contributors to the common good as they move forward.

After paying for my education and for my wife's medical bills, I now live alone in a one bedroom apartment. I wish I could afford to live in The Villages, but I cannot. If my financial situation improves, I may be able to make that move some day.

I still contend that any senior citizen who still has unpaid student loans should be ashamed.

[Taltarzac725]

You may not like this but I disagree. Many of us have had to overcome difficult circumstances but we still paid our obligations.

I worked my way through my first couple of years of college. When the money ran out, I had to leave school and I was promptly drafted. I served my time and then spent another 20+ years in the Army. During that time, I finished my education and when I retired, I was able to find a decent job. I even started my own business.

Two years after I opened my business, my wife became very ill and required an organ transplant. During the next couple of years, I spent most of my time and resources into getting her back to good health. Eventually I lost my business and, after a second transplant, I lost my wife. Through it all, I was able to meet my financial obligations.

Both of my sons have completed their education and their military service in the Army. Neither of them will have outstanding student loans and they will both be contributors to the common good as they move forward.

After paying for my education and for my wife's medical bills, I now live alone in a one bedroom apartment. I wish I could afford to live in The Villages, but I cannot. If my financial situation improves, I may be able to make that move some day.

I still contend that any senior citizen who still has unpaid student loans should be ashamed.

That's a very commendable story. Because of my fight with the 224 613 Project without the help of my extended family and it looks like many others I would have been homeless. Not because I did anything wrong, just basically told the truth about a problem that I still see in the delivery of practical information to survivors/victims of crimes. I got 24 nominations to Marquis Who's Who publications from 1992 through 2002 mainly because of a hobby I refused to give up on.

I even got a lot of help from some agencies in Minnesota as well as some people at the University of Minnesota with this 224 613 Project who are even helping me now in some way.