
It’s easy to think of student loans as a young person’s problem. But the reality is that a good number of older Americans, including near-retirees, are juggling student loans, either because they’re still paying off their own education or they took out loans to help finance a child or grandchild’s education.
The Urban Institute reports that as of August 2022, about 6% of Americans ages 50 and over had student debt. That amounts to roughly 7.2 million in this age group.