Student Debt Threatens the Safety Net for Elderly Americans

Bloomberg Businessweek reports:

Until his Social Security check arrived nearly $300 lighter last June, Eric Merklein, 67, had no idea that he was carrying outstanding student debt. Merklein eventually learned that the government was taking money from his Social Security payments to repay loans he took out roughly four decades ago; he had thought they were paid. Merklein was unemployed, and the garnishment amounted to one-sixth of his total monthly income.

“‘You gotta be making this up,’” Merklein says he thought, at first. “The fact that they didn’t even call me or send me a postcard saying they were going to be doing this, I mean, it’s just nuts.”

Merklein is one of a growing number of Americans aged 50 and older who haven’t finished paying their student loans. Student debt is growing faster for seniors than for any other age group, according to the latest data gathered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Great moments of student loan finance!