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U.S. NEWS A7
Saturday 21 March 2015
US Financial Front:
Managing student loan debt as an older adult
JOHN F. WASIK benefit analysis. How will Debt held by those 65 and older has risen significantly in recent continuing education debt
© 2015 New York Times it maximize my earnings? years, but the load may be eased with careful planning or if you can’t increase your
Continuing your education Will I be able to service the government aid, or through an employer. income or don’t start earn-
is a lofty pursuit, but it could debt?” ing money right away?
become an albatross if you Andrew Weber, a certified (Sebastien Thibault/The New York Times) If you have federal loans,
get too deep into student credit counselor in Athens, you can qualify for a break
loan debt. Ohio, went back to college entire corporate structure est for-profit chains in North from payments until you can
With the need to retool ca- after obtaining a bachelor’s is built to generate profit re- America, saying that it had start paying them down.
reer skills or pursue new vo- degree. He advises those gardless of the outcome of “lured tens of thousands of See the Education Depart-
cations, more Americans returning to school to care- the students that are enroll- students to take out private ment’s federal student aid
are taking on loans to fi- fully consider their financial ing.” loans to cover expensive website to explore the op-
nance education later in situation and career before In a prominent case, the tuition costs by advertising tions. Another option is in-
life - for new degrees, certifi- going into debt. Consumer Financial Pro- bogus job prospects and come-based repayment,
cates or course work called “Evaluate your postgradu- tection Bureau late last career services.” available only for federally
continuing education units ate payment plan,” Weber year sued Corinthian Col- But what happens after guaranteed loans. Private
to improve knowledge in suggests. “What will your leges Inc., one of the larg- you’re out of school with loans are the least flexible in
demanding professions. salary be after graduation? terms of repayment.
According to the Govern- Will there be an immediate Karen McCarthy, senior
ment Accountability Office, payoff in terms of a higher policy analyst for the Wash-
student debt held by those salary?” ington-based National As-
65 and older has risen sig- For example, in some com- sociation of Student Finan-
nificantly in recent years, panies and professions - cial Aid Administrators, says
growing to about $18.2 bil- like teaching - getting a a viable education financ-
lion in 2013, from about $2.8 master’s degree leads to a ing strategy means thinking
billion in 2005. While it’s not guaranteed pay raise. Will ahead.q
known how much of that is your employer reward you
the result of college loans for a higher degree? If so,
cosigned for children or will your raise offset the cost
grandchildren, a good por- of the degree and debt
tion is for continuing educa- incurred? Weber says in a
tion. Before the last reces- previous job he could have
sion, the working-age pop- received an immediate $2-
ulation pursuing “re-entry” to $3-an-hour salary raise
courses jumped 27 percent after earning a graduate
over a decade, according degree.
to the Education Depart- You can overpay for a de-
ment. gree or certificate that will
With all that borrowing by yield little career advance-
older people, some loan ment or salary increases.
trouble probably can’t be Weber warns against for-
far behind. So how do you profit colleges that market
avoid it if you’re a present aggressively and says their
or future retiree, since Social programs and graduation
Security or wages could be rates should be carefully
garnished if you default? vetted.
One answer is your employ- “For-profit institutions mar-
er might help pay for your ket heavily to an older de-
education. Many employ- mographic,” Weber said.
ers will pick up some or all “They have sales agents
of the costs of a graduate and marketing budgets
degree. that are from one-quarter
If you’re paying for all of to one-fifth of their total
your education, look at it budgets. The reason why
as an investment, said Tom that number stands out for
White, chief executive of the for-profit companies is
iQuantifi, an online finan- because they spend so little
cial advice service. In ad- of their budget on their ac-
dition to asking yourself the tual classes, teachers and
reason for going back to materials versus executive
school, he said, “Do a cost- pay and advertising. Their
