It’s easy to think of the student-debt crisis as something affecting younger people. But the reality is, the debt load is a problem across every age group from 20-80.
A February 2019 article in the Wall Street Journal details the $86 billion in student debt faced by Americans ages 60 and up. Some of these people aged with debt, while others took it on after the Great Recession to improve their employment prospects. And of course, some are carrying loans that they took out for their children or grandchildren.
The infographic below shows how much the burden of student debt is affecting the three main adult generations. What’s surprising and alarming is how nearly half of all three generations with student loans say they’re experiencing household debt as a major problem.
Infographic courtesy of Association of Young Americans and AARP.
