The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said yesterday that the number of young borrowers who have fallen behind on their student loan payments has soared over the past four years, the Wall Street Journal reported today. According to the New York Fed's report, 35 percent of people under 30 who have student loans were at least 90 days late on their payments at the end of last year, up from 26 percent in 2008 and 21 percent at the end of 2004. Amplifying the burden: a growing number of young adults have become student borrowers. All told, 43 percent of 25-year-olds had student debt in the fourth quarter of 2012, up from about 33 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.
