The experts at Goldstone Financial Group detail what people approaching retirement age should know about repaying any student loan debt they might have.

1. HOW TO NAVIGATE STUDENT
LOANS IN RETIREMENT
From Goldstone Financial Group

2. The issue:
Student debt is at an all-time
high; about 44 million Americans
hold almost $1.4 trillion in
outstanding debts.
Currently, 6.4% of student loan
borrowers are age 60 or older.
That number is expected to grow
as young Americans carry their
debt further into their futures.

3. Stretching out
payments:
Because older Americans are
usually living on a set fixed income
and federal loans are nullified
upon death, it often makes sense
to reduce monthly payments by
arranging to stretch out the loan
term. While this increases the total
amount of interest paid, it serves
to keep monthly payments to a
minimum which can assist with
budgeting purposes.

4. Obama-era program can help:
• While three-fourths of older
borrowers with student loan
balances are only holding balances
on their own education, the
remainder are holding balances on
a child or other relative’s education.
• The latter may be eligible for an
Obama-era repayment program
called the Pay as You Earn PAYE
program, which limits required
payments based on earnings.
Borrowers can check on the Federal
Student Aid website to determine
eligibility.

5. INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT:
Caps maximum monthly payments at 15% of discretionary income. One of the most
appealing aspects of this program is that after 25 years of continuous repayments,
borrowers may be eligible for loan forgiveness for the remaining balance.

6. - Be aware -
Now, though, 173,000 Americans received
reduced Social Security checks because of
unpaid student loan debts.
These factors are important to consider early so
that Americans with student loan debt can be
aware of the costs that may lie ahead.