A recent Washington Post article highlights the numbers of older individuals struggling with student loan debt.  The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published new data showing that Americans 60 and older still owe about $36 billion in student loans. We have cautioned for some time that student loan burdens are not only a “young persons” problem.  Many […]

The current debate about student loan debt generally spotlights the struggles of young college graduates.  The image of a young adult, unable to find a job, maybe even moving back in with her parents, often comes to mind because this best fits our own experiences or because these are the borrowers most often depicted in media accounts. […]

Joe Nocera wrote in the New York Times last week that profits and education shouldn’t have to be such an ugly combination.  Nocera notes that defenders of the for-profit higher education industry are often ignored when they point out that their higher student loan default rates are inevitable given the higher risk populations they serve. Nocera […]

The Department of Education has unprecedented powers to collect defaulted student loans.  The agency can take tax refunds (even earned income tax credits), garnish wages without first getting judgments, and even seize portions of federal benefits such as Social Security.  There is no statute of limitations for student loan collections, meaning that the government can come […]

Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project Director Deanne Loonin recently spoke about student loan issues with Isaac Bowers, senior program manager at Equal Justice Works. Here is an excerpt from that interview: “Student loan policy is generally developed with a focus on the needs of middle-class borrowers and their families. Although these issues are very important, it is […]

Deanne Loonin, Director of NCLC’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, spoke on a panel this week at the annual conference of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.  Here are her more extended views on the session, “Student Borrowing:  Reasonable Debt Levels, Navigating Repayment, and the Consequences of Over Borrowing.” ———— I don’t like […]

Imagine this scenario–Congress passes a new tax deduction that primarily benefits middle income Americans and the I.R.S. decides not to provide the benefit because their staff can’t figure out how to reprogram their computers.  It’s hard to imagine because it is so unlikely.  At worst, there would likely be an outcry and the I.R.S. would […]

The debate about the costs of defaulted federal student loans has taken a very troubling turn.  Confusing budget numbers seem to show that the government actually recovers more than it pays out on federal student loans.  Jason Delisle of New America wrote an excellent article on this issue in January 2011.  He shows how the […]

A recent experience highlights the ways in which so many borrowers in default run into brick walls when trying  to enforce their rights.  The twist to this experience is that it has a good ending.  There is hope because in some cases, guaranty agencies or the Department of Education will step up and do the […]

The holiday season can be a time for  reflection, so I am thinking  back on the student loan borrower clients I have worked with this year.  On the positive side, we have helped many  borrowers manage their overwhelming student loan debt loads. I will write more about these successes in future posts.  For now, I […]