Started By
Message

Highest rate of student loan delinquencies is for people 50+ years old

Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:09 am
Posted by Powerman
Member since Jan 2004
170130 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:09 am
Nearly 1 in 5 older borrowers are seriously delinquent

quote:

Nearly 1 in 5 — or roughly 18% — of student loan borrowers who are 50 and older became “seriously delinquent,” or 90 days or more late on their payments, in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The rate for that age group was closer to 10% in 2019.

For comparison, closer to 8% of student loan borrowers between the ages of 18 and 29 became seriously delinquent during that time frame, and around 11% of those aged 30 to 39 did.


I think this is one of those topics where if you just randomly asked someone about it everyone would just assume it's the millennials and younger.

The disturbing thing about this statistic is people that are 50+ should be well in to their prime earning years and their cost of education was much lower.

The youth get shite on way too much when a lot of times we forget that it's the "older" people that are just as irresponsible.

When you hear boomers sky screaming about avocado toast and 6 dollar coffees do you envision them talking about people 50+ years old? I sure don't.
Posted by Narax
Member since Jan 2023
5459 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:15 am to
quote:

"older" people that are just as irresponsible.

Should be zero government loans for students over 50.

The recoup time on their productivity is not there.
Posted by Powerman
Member since Jan 2004
170130 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:17 am to
Well it doesn't cite the loan origination date

Presumably some of these people took out the loans well before age 50

I hadn't considered the possibility that some of these people went back to school at a later age which is certainly the case.
Posted by Zach
Gizmonic Institute
Member since May 2005
116582 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:18 am to
Why would someone approaching 50 want to go to college, much less borrow money for it? The only case I know was a 45 y.o. nurse who thought her surgeon husband's job was easy. So, she went to med school and became a dermatologist at age 50. Her husband paid for her schooling.
Posted by Powerman
Member since Jan 2004
170130 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:22 am to
quote:

Why would someone approaching 50 want to go to college, much less borrow money for it?

Presumably a lot of these people started college well before 50

They could have started in their 30s for all we know
Posted by Narax
Member since Jan 2023
5459 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:24 am to
quote:

I hadn't considered the possibility that some of these people went back to school at a later age which is certainly the case.

Yea its probably a mix of both.
Federal loans are scheduled for within 10 years of graduation, so if you haven't paid off by 50 you probably dont care.
quote:

9.19% of all enrolled students are aged 25 to 29 years old.
5.71% of all enrolled students are aged 30 to 34 years old.
3.72% of all enrolled students are aged 35 to 39 years old.
4.1% of all enrolled students are aged 40 to 49 years old.
People aged 50 to 64 years make up 1.92% of all enrolled students.
2.18% of all enrolled students are aged 50 and over.

Plus a number of those second careers fail anyway.
Posted by Taxing Authority
Houston
Member since Feb 2010
62409 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:26 am to
I always shake my head at the twitter posts. "Why is the balance on my $30,000 student loan now $50,000 and I've been paying $85/month for 25 years?"

Posted by Powerman
Member since Jan 2004
170130 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:28 am to
quote:

I always shake my head at the twitter posts. "Why is the balance on my $30,000 student loan now $50,000 and I've been paying $85/month for 25 years?"


Right. A small amount beyond the minimum would have knocked the balance down fast.

What gets me is even if you didn't understand the loan or the math are they never checking their statement balance? It would only take me a handful of payments going nowhere to figure out that I needed to aggressively pay more to make that shite go away.
Posted by GRTiger
On a roof eating alligator pie
Member since Dec 2008
68580 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:32 am to
Most boomers and Gen Xers were raised largely financially illiterate. Some never cared to or never could figure it out.
Posted by ChatGPT of LA
Member since Mar 2023
3938 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:33 am to
Well, you get that old and have all your assets and shite, and couldn't care less about a charge off on your credit. So yeah, those loans are 1st on things to not pay
Posted by CDawson
Louisiana
Member since Dec 2017
19116 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:34 am to
quote:

Should be zero government loans


FIFY
Posted by Narax
Member since Jan 2023
5459 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:37 am to
quote:

It would only take me a handful of payments going nowhere to figure out that I needed to aggressively pay more to make that shite go away.

I skipped paying my student loans a couple of times when was a new graduate.

I was living on my own in an expensive area, and some months it was student loan or rent.

I had no car, I took the bus to work, but the market had just crashed and raises were not happening.

I would make up the missing with my tax return check, and eventually entry level pay became much better.

Finished it at 10 years, but it was rough in the beginning.
Posted by rltiger
Metairie
Member since Oct 2004
1777 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:37 am to
Here are the reasons for the student loan debacle..
1992 Higher Education Act Reauthorization: This critical amendment broadened eligibility for subsidized federal student loans, increased annual and lifetime loan limits, and, most notably, created the unsubsidized student loan program which was available to any student regardless of income or financial need.
Creation and expansion of the FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was established in 1992, streamlining the process for students to apply for and receive financial aid, including loans.
Federal Direct Loan Program: Introduced as a pilot program in 1992 and expanded in 1993, this program allowed the government to issue loans directly to students, running parallel to the guaranteed program until all new federal loans were consolidated into the Direct Loan Program in 2010. This ensured a stable and consistent supply of loan capital, even when private lenders faced credit market disruptions.

I want to know the ethnic and racial breakdown of delinquencies. These programs are now used for income production.

90% the borrowers that are getting these 5 to 6 figure loans wouldn't be able to get a car loan or a credit card.
Posted by Powerman
Member since Jan 2004
170130 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:44 am to
quote:

Well, you get that old and have all your assets and shite, and couldn't care less about a charge off on your credit. So yeah, those loans are 1st on things to not pay

I didn't think you could just charge off student loans though?
Posted by weadjust
Member since Aug 2012
15618 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:48 am to
I'm thinking. The over age 50 defaults are probably due to signing or co-signing a student loan for their children to go to college.
Posted by ChatGPT of LA
Member since Mar 2023
3938 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:49 am to
quote:

didn't think you could just charge off student loans though?


Leanders do the charge off action.....not positive on every student loan situation, going back 35 years (people over 50)
Posted by Powerman
Member since Jan 2004
170130 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:53 am to
quote:

The over age 50 defaults are probably due to signing or co-signing a student loan for their children to go to college.

I mean you just made that up out of thin air but it could be possible
Posted by Powerman
Member since Jan 2004
170130 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:53 am to
quote:


Leanders do the charge off action.....not positive on every student loan situation, going back 35 years (people over 50)

I know they can't be discharged in bankruptcy, or at least it's more difficult to do that vs something like credit card debt
Posted by billjamin
Houston
Member since Jun 2019
16233 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:56 am to
No fool like an old fool.
Posted by LsuNav
Sacramento
Member since Mar 2008
1816 posts
Posted on 11/9/25 at 11:57 am to
A friend works with a 60+ year old woman with a lot of student loan debt. She planned to never pay off her student loan debt using the deferment process to her advantage.
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 3Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookXInstagram