Valerie Warner is 71 years old and owes $268.000 in student loans.
About 40 years ago she went to law school, began working as a paralegal and later in the public school system, which the Washington Post he calls "a rewarding job, but one that didn't pay enough to pay off her loans."
He later earned a master's degree in education: All told, Warner borrowed a total of about $60.000 for her two degrees. The amount seemed reasonable given the promising careers with both credentials, but the outcome was not what he expected. Working a series of low-wage jobs, the balance grew to its current total of $268.000 over the years due to collection fees and interest capitalization.
And she's not the only one in debt. "One December afternoon, a group of seniors stood in the rain outside the Ministry of Education pleading for relief from a debt many fear will carry them for the rest of their lives..."
Some sat in rocking chairs, their debt number on a piece of paper. Others held signs that read: "Time is running out, sunset our debt," or wore T-shirts that read: "Debt relief before we die...".
Activists are urging the U.S. Department of Education to pay off the student debt of former borrowers who they say are unable to repay. They say the department could use a little-known federal statute that looks at a person's ability to pay within a reasonable time and the government's inability to collect the debt in full.
There are 2,8 million federal student loan borrowers ages 62 years and older with total debt 121,5 billion dollars, more than 726.300 of them over the age of 71, according to the Ministry of Education.
Debt Collective, the campaign group, has sent a letter to the Ministry outlining how it has been able to cancel the debt of older borrowers.
The activist group said it is meeting with members of Congress, White House committees and Department of Education officials about the theme since September.
"Many of them people they were borrowers for 20 or 30 years, at punishingly high interest rates. Their balances and the way they have been dragged out for decades are simply an indictment of the broken system and the failure of past relief efforts," said Eleni Schirmer, organizer of the Debt Collective…
In accordance with think tank New america, the number of Americans approaching retirement age with student loan debt has soared more than 500 percent over the past two decades. Some have loans they took out to finance their college educations, while others took out federal Parent Plus loans or co-signed private loans for their children.
The article points out that the US Govt will collect up to 15 percent of Social Security (pension) income to repay student loan debt, even if it means recipients will be below the poverty line.
