In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimated that 2.8 million Americans aged 60 and over were carrying student debt. The figure was up from 700,000 in 2005. Nearly 40% of borrowers over 65 were in default, the bureau reported. The bureau said that in 2014 73% of older borrowers were paying for the education of children or grandchildren.
State-by-state estimates of the total burden in a 2017 bureau report added up to an outstanding balance of $110 billion for Americans over 60 in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. The Congressional Budget Office reported that the total student debt balance in 2017 was $1.4 trillion.