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Economy
Social Security Withheld From Over 100,000 Older Americans Due to Student Loan Debt
2017-02-02
[LI] Pay attention, college students. The debt you accrue obtaining your degree never goes away.

Social Security benefits were withheld from an estimated 114,000 individuals of at least 50 years in age as of 2015 in order to repay their student loan debts, a congressional watchdog reported Tuesday.

"An increasing number of older Americans have defaulted on their federal student loan debt," the Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote in a blog post. "To recover this debt, the federal government can withhold a portion of Social Security payments -- a process known as offsetting."

The 114,000 total borrowers assessed marks a fourfold increase since 2002.

"This number is expected to continue to grow given the increasing number of older borrowers and their high rates of default," the blog post said.
Posted by:Besoeker

#9  #3 is spot on - if you co-signed and your kids, grandkids, whatever, don't pay, YOU WILL
Posted by: Frank G   2017-02-02 19:46  

#8  Don't forget the 13% interest.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2017-02-02 14:37  

#7  Think of it as a super tax. The government will pay for college, but in exchange they want 15 years of your life.
Posted by: Iblis   2017-02-02 11:10  

#6  ...next there will be rioting on campuses. Oh wait, never mind.
Posted by: P2Kontheroad   2017-02-02 09:32  

#5  Doubt it Alan. This is a balloon bubble that the government made, promoted and now is fighting to the death over.

Collage enrollments are already declining, some especially rapidly (see law schools) and when this bubble bursts most collages will collapse with it.

Long past time, IMHO. The growth of administrators and SJW classes comes directly from these programs and if collages are forced to be profitable on their own, these will be the first cut.
Posted by: DarthVader   2017-02-02 08:00  

#4  This is a massive volcano that is way over due for an eruption.

The question is can a vent open the releases the pressure without blowing up big time.
Posted by: AlanC   2017-02-02 07:57  

#3  If you co-signed on your son's or daughter's student loan and they defaulted your social security benefits will be withheld as well.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2017-02-02 07:27  

#2  ...And it's only going to get worse. I for one believe that the 'nuclear option' for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate will be calling for realignment or flat-out forgiveness of a LOT of student loan debt.

Gonna be hard to fix though - for instance, a BIG part of the building boom in downtown Columbia (SC, that is, a few miles away) is student apartments that have all the amenities one could ask for...and all of which can be paid for by student loans. Something's gotta give.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2017-02-02 05:10  

#1  Bill Clinton insisted I pay federal income taxes on my Social Security checks (money I earned, paid into the fund, and never touched for 55 years), so don't forget to add interest charges to theirs.
Posted by: Besoeker   2017-02-02 04:28  

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