Millions of Americans over the age of 60 are still struggling to pay their student loan debt, according to CBS News . The news outlet ...
Millions of Americans over the age of 60 are still struggling to pay their student loan debt, according to CBS News.
The news outlet cited data obtained from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which said there are more than three million student loan debtors over the age of 60 in the United States. Together, those borrowers account for more than $86 billion of outstanding student loan debt in the country.
Seraphina Galante, 76, told CBS News in an interview that she currently owes close to $40,000 in outstanding student loan debt since obtaining a degree from San Diego State University almost two decades ago.
"I was very confident that ... I would pay it back, you know, in due time. We grow older and then we get more senior. That's reality of life," 76-year-old told CBS News.
Galante told the publication she has had to pause her monthly loan payments, which currently amount to $176 per month, on multiple occasions due to personal issues.
"I don't see the justice or even the logic. It's not gonna reduce, ever," she told the outlet.
"And the emotional part of it that it's there. That it's always gonna be there," said.
Galante told CBS News she believes her debt "will follow me to the grave."
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) commented on Galante's story over Twitter on Thursday.
"Student debt impacts students of all ages," Omar wrote. "We must eliminate the need to borrow for college."
Last year, a Bloomberg analysis found that outstanding student loan debt in country hit a record high of almost $1.5 trillion in November.