Most student loan borrowers are young adults, but the number of older Americans with education loans has quadrupled in the last decade. Many of them say that difficulties with loan servicers are adding to their debt-management struggles, the New York Times reported today. Americans age 60 and older are the fastest-growing group of student loan borrowers, according to a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that examines borrower complaints. There are now about 2.8 million Americans who are 60 or older with at least one student loan. Some older borrowers are carrying their own student loans, but most have education debt taken out on behalf of their children or grandchildren, either by borrowing the money themselves or co-signing loans with the student as the main borrower, the report found. The average debt for such borrowers has doubled over the last 10 years, to about $24,000. Most of the borrowers have other types of debt as well, including mortgages and credit card debt. Read more.
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