3 million senior citizens in the US are still paying off their student loans

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Weedygarden

Weedygarden

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https://www.businessinsider.com/ame...U_S8AQEhXE_NC_wBu5LMWt-1R3sfRV2cjw3lbqJVAnNmo

It's not just young people paying off college debt — senior citizens say they're still paying off student loans they took out for school decades ago.

More than 3 million Americans aged 60 and older currently owe more than $86 billion in unpaid student loans, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) data seen by CBS News. Recent data available online from 2017 showed the number was $66.7 billion two years ago.

Many older Americans are now reportedly turning to their Social Security benefits to pay student debt.

Seraphina Galante, a 76-year-old who received her master's degree from San Diego State University 19 years ago, told CBS News that she still owes nearly $40,000.

"I was very confident that ... I would pay it back, you know, in due time," Galante said. "We grow older and then we get more senior. That's reality of life."

Galante works part-time as a caregiving consultant and makes a $176 student loan payment monthly. The payment does not cover the interest on the loan.

"I don't see the justice or even the logic. It's not gonna reduce, ever. And the emotional part of it that it's there. That it's always gonna be there," Galante told CBS News.

Seth Frotman, a student debt expert, told CBS News that the government will seize Social Security benefits to pay loans, something that is "driving tens of thousands of older Americans into poverty."

Student debt has been at the forefront of 2020 presidential campaigns, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposing canceling up to $50,000 in student-loan debt for 42 million Americans last month.

"We got into this crisis because state governments and the federal government decided that ...  they'd rather cut taxes for billionaires and giant corporations and offload the cost of higher education onto students and their families," Warren wrote in a blog post last month, adding, "It's time to end that experiment."

A new INSIDER poll released Friday found that a big majority — 77% — of likely Democratic primary voters support Warren's plan, and 36% said they strongly support it. Overall, 57% of Americans polled said they at least somewhat support Warren's plan, while 21% at least somewhat oppose it.
 
I just don't understand how people can run up so much debt and never pay it down. Just like a car loan or mortgage, make larger payments and always pay interest and principal payment.

If the gov does push the debt forgiveness thru why not just wipe all debt for student loans, houses, cars, boats, even 22 trillion for the Gov's debt? Where does it end?
 
Personal responsibility. You took out the loans, you pay them back. No one said you couldn't pay more than the minimum. I don't know why the media wants us to feel sorry for everyone.

ETA- you is a generic term, not y'all in particular.
 
You are both right. SOme of the classes offered are for nothing other than bringing in money for the schools, no jobs to be had in the field. A lot of trade jobs are in terrible need of young folks to get involved in. I supervise Instrument technicians (electronic techs for the most part) and so many people who apply have little to no knowledge of how anything works. Very few folks even in their 20's., most are 30-40's and not qualified. Electricians, plumbers, welders are just a few of the fields that pay well and something you can build a future from.
 
Agree @Bacpacker and @Terri9630 if anyone has debt it is up to them to have the willpower to pay it off. We have a mortgage and pay principle plus interest payments each month to pay it off quicker to save both interest and time on the loan.

I think it is sad that people who are approaching retirement age are still paying off debts from their student days and that their social security benefits will be seized to pay these debts. Ultimately though it is their fault for not tackling the debt straight up though. I agree from reading too that the university fees for courses are extortionate though there in the States.
 
My oldest son went to college and worked full-time while there. He only allowed me to help some with the costs. The last quarter he over extended some with way too many classes so he quit working and I took care of all costs. He graduated with no debt and a 4.0 average. It can be done.
I thought he had picked an excellent major with Graphic Arts and electronic communications. The only job he ever got in his chosen profession was when he was hired by the college to completely re-do and update their web site. He has worked construction ever since.
 
Yeah, I'm not believing there are 3 million senior citizens who are still paying off their school debt. Sounds more like political propaganda supporting Elizabeth Warren's position to pay off everyone's school loans. Hell, lets buy everyone new cars, houses, and why not also give everyone new clothes and medical care because as we all know, money is free.
 
Amish Heart said:
Another problem is what people are getting degrees in. Try finding a job with a bachelors in psychology, womens studies. The Universities charges way too much. They need to lower their rates.
I recommend to our grandkids that live with us to learn a trade. No university.
Click to expand...
How about all those degrees in philosophy? I know a couple people who have them. One woman has done office work as long as I have known her. I wouldn't have needed a degree in philosophy to file paperwork.
 
havasu said:
Yeah, I'm not believing there are 3 million senior citizens who are still paying off their school debt. Sounds more like political propaganda supporting Elizabeth Warren's position to pay off everyone's school loans. Hell, lets buy everyone new cars, houses, and why not also give everyone new clothes and medical care because as we all know, money is free.
Click to expand...
You could be right, but I actually know people who are in this mix. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Saunders are the socialist leaders of America it seems and it seems they are always hitting it from one angle or another.

hiwall said:
My oldest son went to college and worked full-time while there. He only allowed me to help some with the costs. The last quarter he over extended some with way too many classes so he quit working and I took care of all costs. He graduated with no debt and a 4.0 average. It can be done.
Click to expand...
My daughter's goal was to graduate debt free. She worked full time, doing marketing and others for corporations, taking classes evening and weekends. It took her 14 years to get her degree, but between work and school, she was always busy. Did she graduate debt free? No, but she was very, very close. At the end, in the last year or two, she just wanted to be done.
 
Well, I am one of those seniors with student loan debt. BUT.... I knew when I signed the loans what I was getting into, and I am steadily paying them off. I have another 3 1/2 years and they should be completely paid. Even once I retire, I've still planned for paying them off. In my case, the additional debt was worth it to get the education I needed to do my job. Sure, it would be just lovely for the government to forgive my debt..... but who is going to pay for that? The problem with student loans is that they are too easy to get, and so students who do not have clear career goals or are just going to college to make Mommy and Daddy happy (or to postpone getting a real job) can easily find themselves buried. It all goes back to personal responsibility. I accepted the loans, and it is my responsibility to pay them back. All of this whining about "Oh, poor me, my social security is being seized" makes me ill.
 
Why would you pay it off early, it is the lowest interest rate, outside of family loans, that you can get.
Still cost is two much, but the government is in on the scam with the colleges, so the interest is the hook that get you to sign.
 
College is not a trade school. You learn interesting subject matter, how to find and document information and prove that you can stick to something for a period of time. It used to teach people to think for themselves.
 
SheepDog said:
College is not a trade school. You learn interesting subject matter, how to find and document information and prove that you can stick to something for a period of time. It used to teach people to think for themselves.
Click to expand...
A lot of what is being taught in college is liberal arts. The liberal part is really the truth of the matter. I see that in my daughter's belief system.
 
joel said:
Why would you pay it off early, it is the lowest interest rate, outside of family loans, that you can get.
Still cost is two much, but the government is in on the scam with the colleges, so the interest is the hook that get you to sign.
Click to expand...
The interest rates vary but most are 5% or more. Then there are penalties if you miss a payment.
 
Government needs to get out of the student loan business. They never should have been in it to begin with! And with .gov granting anyone a student loan, it's just driven up the price of school, which is already too ridiculously high. Private companies and banks do a much better job of vetting and making sure when a loan is made that it can be paid back. Someone needs to step in and tell these folks that you can't pay back the thousands of dollars of student loan debt by getting a masters degree in (insert any number of useless liberal degrees). Many don't even look to see what the job market in their field is like before they sign on the dotted line to be a slave to their debt. Anyone getting a student loan should be required to gather their numbers to show what the total cost of school would be, what the payment amounts will be, and what the job would likely pay in their field. It amazes me that people don't just automatically do that. Yet, they apparently don't since many are whinning about their debt that they signed up for, like it's some sort of surprise.

I worked 3 part time jobs while going to school and graduated without debt. I had some help from my parents too, while I lived at home when getting my degree, although I wasn't there much. I didn't get that "college" experience of living in the dorms, but it saved a lot of cash and I still managed to have some fun. Going to a community college to get the core classes will save tons of money. There's also the GI Bill that is an option for those who want to go to school without debt. I'm sorry, but I have zero sympathy for those who took on student loans and are now wondering how to pay them back. As stated by others above, there's lots of great paying jobs that do not require a college degree. I personally know several very talented and smart people who make lots of money........and don't have to worry about student loan debt b/c they never went to college.

So, I'd ask Warren......I don't have student loan debt. If you're going to forgive everyone else's debt, what do I get????
 
angie_nrs, some people have no clue about money and money management. I have seen a few Judge Judy episodes where she asks them what they do? Full time student. How do they support themselves? Student loans. So they are borrowing money to live off of while they go to school for 4 years. They didn't think of working while going to school. Or paying as they go. Sometimes, the court case is because they had someone on them about getting some of that money from them, and then can't get it back.

I wanted, over the years to work on a more advanced degree. I never wanted the debt.

I know a woman who is around 60. Around 14 or 15 years ago she decided she wanted to get a masters degree in art. She went to school for it. No work, just went to school. Then she worked for a couple years as an art teacher and then has not really had a job since. Didn't really want a job. Wanted to be home. Want, want, want. She does not answer her phone now, because, she is not paying her loans and they keep calling and calling. She has horrible credit. She cannot even get a bank account in her name. If she decides she wants something, she does it and will leave her family on the skids for money until her husband gets paid again.
 
My children waited on tables to pay their own way through college. Between classes, studying and work they didn't have time left to get into trouble. They keep their grades up to qualify for grants and scholarships. Average of 5 years after graduation they had their college loans paid off in full.

And now some Communist wants to cheapen my children's accomplishments by promises of "free" forgiveness of college debt, paid by the working Americans! :mad:

These poor innocent little college gradates (and the parents that co-signed) that borrowed all this debt, what was their plans for repayment? Probably the same plan as those that pile up credit card debt. No plan.
 
Weedygarden said:
angie_nrs, some people have no clue about money and money management. ... She has horrible credit. She cannot even get a bank account in her name. If she decides she wants something, she does it and will leave her family on the skids for money until her husband gets paid again.
Click to expand...

And that is the reason why I separated my accounts from the wife's. Wife would make a perfect politician, if she has one dollar she'll spend $1.10

For the last 30 years I've been putting back towards my retirement by doing without. When I asked her what she was going to use for income when she retires, she said she has no other choice but to work until she dies.
 
The Lazy L said:
And that is the reason why I separated my accounts from the wife's. Wife would make a perfect politician, if she has one dollar she'll spend $1.10

For the last 30 years I've been putting back towards my retirement by doing without. When I asked her what she was going to use for income when she retires, she said she has no other choice but to work until she dies.
Click to expand...
I worked with a woman who did the same. She was never happy in any work situation and my guess is that she has worked in more than 20 schools. Every time she would leave a job, she would take out retirement and have a world trip--Russia, Africa, Europe (multiple times), Australia, China. Forever, she has said she will have to die on the job.

How many others have made this same plan? Or rather, this lack of planning? Trust me, I know many who live in the moment with their want, want, want.

Ever wonder why there are SO many homeless people in America? Got a dime? Spend a quarter.
 
The Lazy L said:
And now some Communist wants to cheapen my children's accomplishments by promises of "free" forgiveness of college debt, paid by the working Americans! :mad:
Click to expand...

Exactly! I remember the joy we experienced when we paid off our house. I'd imagine the same emotions paying off any loan. The communists don't want anyone to experience any joy.......they want everyone to experience the same misery. Geesh, you can't even have any pride anymore. If they have their way, that would be illegal!

From what I see, poeple make much more effort to understand their mortgage than they do a student loan. Which is crazy, considering (for some) a student loan may be more than a typical mortgage and is not dischargeable in bankruptsy (except in rare cases). At least with a house, the bank can come and take it back if you can't pay your payment. With a student loan, there's nothing to come back on, which is why it was set up to not be part of a bankruptsy.....b/c they know they'd never get paid back if it was.
 
I've been thinking about this more lately due to the idiot libs on the campaign trail that are again touting student loan forgiveness.:rolleyes: What the politicians don't realize (or won't admit) is that SOMEONE is going to pay it one way or another. They just don't consider the American taxpayer.....someone. The Universities already received that money, so they won't be left holding the bag. But, IMHO, if anyone (other than the student who took out the loans) should be holding the bag, it should be the University. They are the ones who charge ridiculous amounts and hand out these useless degrees. So, I have a proposal.......

The government will STOP issuing student loans immediately! From now on, if anyone gets a student loan, they must get it through a private company or from their own financial instutuion who deems that loan appropriate for that person. The loans that are on the books to the govenment stand. The taxpayer shouldn't have to pay for all of those who signed their name on the dotted line. It's called responsibility. When you die, your loan goes away. Until then, you are responsible for what you signed up for.

This will do a couple of things....

Just like car dealerships make loans to folks who want to buy a car they can't pay cash for now, they vet their own customers and decide to (or not) make a loan to the purchaser for their OWN product. In the same way, Universities and colleges need to do the same thing! Those Univerisities need to hold their own bag. IF they want to pass out degrees in gender studies on their own dime, then so be it. I wonder how long they think it will take that student to pay back their loan? Somehow I'm thinking the loans to get those degrees will dry up in short order. It will also force both the University AND the student to learn how to do basic MATH. Imagine that!

Also it will incentivise those employers who are in dire need of workers that require a degree to get creative in how they attract workers. Today, many rural health clinics will pay for a portion or all of educational costs if they agree to work in that area for an amount of time. I think this would become more popular in all fields requiring formal education. In this way, individuals would start taking on real responsibility from the start by actually having a work plan before stepping foot into a classroom.
 
Last edited:
Weedygarden said:
https://www.businessinsider.com/ame...U_S8AQEhXE_NC_wBu5LMWt-1R3sfRV2cjw3lbqJVAnNmo

It's not just young people paying off college debt — senior citizens say they're still paying off student loans they took out for school decades ago.

More than 3 million Americans aged 60 and older currently owe more than $86 billion in unpaid student loans, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) data seen by CBS News. Recent data available online from 2017 showed the number was $66.7 billion two years ago.

Many older Americans are now reportedly turning to their Social Security benefits to pay student debt.

Seraphina Galante, a 76-year-old who received her master's degree from San Diego State University 19 years ago, told CBS News that she still owes nearly $40,000.

"I was very confident that ... I would pay it back, you know, in due time," Galante said. "We grow older and then we get more senior. That's reality of life."

Galante works part-time as a caregiving consultant and makes a $176 student loan payment monthly. The payment does not cover the interest on the loan.

"I don't see the justice or even the logic. It's not gonna reduce, ever. And the emotional part of it that it's there. That it's always gonna be there," Galante told CBS News.

Seth Frotman, a student debt expert, told CBS News that the government will seize Social Security benefits to pay loans, something that is "driving tens of thousands of older Americans into poverty."

Student debt has been at the forefront of 2020 presidential campaigns, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposing canceling up to $50,000 in student-loan debt for 42 million Americans last month.

"We got into this crisis because state governments and the federal government decided that ...  they'd rather cut taxes for billionaires and giant corporations and offload the cost of higher education onto students and their families," Warren wrote in a blog post last month, adding, "It's time to end that experiment."

A new INSIDER poll released Friday found that a big majority — 77% — of likely Democratic primary voters support Warren's plan, and 36% said they strongly support it. Overall, 57% of Americans polled said they at least somewhat support Warren's plan, while 21% at least somewhat oppose it.
Click to expand...

Bacpacker said:
I just don't understand how people can run up so much debt and never pay it down. Just like a car loan or mortgage, make larger payments and always pay interest and principal payment.

If the gov does push the debt forgiveness thru why not just wipe all debt for student loans, houses, cars, boats, even 22 trillion for the Gov's debt? Where does it end?
Click to expand...

Indoctrinating our youth don't come cheap!!:mad:. Univeristies across the nation pay these perverts millions to spread their hate and communist agendas.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/behind-the-scenes-of-hillary-clintons-300000-speech-at-ucla/

Speaking Fees for Former Presidents Top $750,000
How Much Obama, Clinton, Carter and Bush Earn By Just Talking
 
Weedygarden said:
How about all those degrees in philosophy? I know a couple people who have them. One woman has done office work as long as I have known her. I wouldn't have needed a degree in philosophy to file paperwork.
Click to expand...

Weedy if they survive all the agendas of college they will need all the mental help they can get.

60% of those in college since the 1960s are not college material to begin with. Who said everybody needs college? A bunch of political gangsters wanted the youth all herded up into one place so they could brainwash them. Kinda like hitlers Brown Shirts.
 
DrPrepper said:
Well, I am one of those seniors with student loan debt. BUT.... I knew when I signed the loans what I was getting into, and I am steadily paying them off. I have another 3 1/2 years and they should be completely paid. Even once I retire, I've still planned for paying them off. In my case, the additional debt was worth it to get the education I needed to do my job. Sure, it would be just lovely for the government to forgive my debt..... but who is going to pay for that? The problem with student loans is that they are too easy to get, and so students who do not have clear career goals or are just going to college to make Mommy and Daddy happy (or to postpone getting a real job) can easily find themselves buried. It all goes back to personal responsibility. I accepted the loans, and it is my responsibility to pay them back. All of this whining about "Oh, poor me, my social security is being seized" makes me ill.
Click to expand...

Dr.P most are not as responsible as you though.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you this since you were there witnessing it first hand from your classmates.
 
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