Neither Rich Nor Smart
Return on Investment: Zero !?
When you think ahead to retirement, you may look forward to relaxing days in some sunny location, perhaps near a beach or a golf course. You may think how nice it will be not to worry about getting to work on time. But for many Americans, being over 60 and in or near retirement hasn't saved them from a problem that often plagues younger people--student debt.
3.2 million Americans over the age of 60 still have student debt. And the Wall Street Journal reports that their average debt was $33,800, up 45 percent from 2015. And more than 74,000 Americans over 65 are having their Social Security payments, tax refunds, or other government payments garnished because they aren't paying their student loans. That number has more than tripled in the last decade.
Americans who are still struggling with student debt in their 60s got there one of three ways. In some cases, they have very longstanding loans which they've had trouble paying off over the years. 77-year-old Seraphina Galante, who says she has 19-year-old student debt. The payments have been reduced in accordance with her income. That sounds like a good thing, but her current lower payments aren't even enough to cover the interest on her loan which means that even as she keeps paying her monthly bill, the total she owes is going up instead of down. She says she'll die with that debt still unpaid.