Everyone knows the student debt crisis is hurting young people, but it’s also hurting our seniors. The government can garnish up to 15% of your social security payments to collect on student loan debt, hampering one of the greatest anti-poverty programs in the country.
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While credit card companies and other lenders can’t touch social security checks, the Department of Education can garnish someone’s check if they default. And guess what – nearly 40% of people over the age of 65 are in default, meaning they can’t afford to pay back their loans.
The number of Social Security recipients 65 and older who had their check reduced due to defaulted federal student loans increased by more than 500% between 2002 and 2015. Imagine you’re on a fixed income from your monthly $1,000 check. Then boom, $150 is taken away. How cruel.
That’s the difference between putting food on the table, keeping a roof over your head, or paying for life-saving medicine. The truth is, cancelling student loan debt is a retirement issue. It would literally serve as an income adjustment for seniors.
60+ is the fastest growing group with student debt. Full cancellation would boost the economy, help close the racial wealth gap and deliver COVID relief for 45M Americans. It will ALSO save our seniors heading into retirement, hoping to rely on Social Security benefits to live.
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