\u201cI would like to spend more time with my family and my husband. We don’t really spend a whole lot of time together because everybody is at work most of the time,\u201d she said. \u201cWe like to travel, we like to go to the beach, and we like to camp.\u201d<\/p>\n
But for Nickle, retirement may remain a dream. She is one of millions of Americans in their 60s who fear they\u2019ll never be able to retire<\/a> due to a mountain of student loan debt. Some are still carrying debt from their own college years decades ago, while others took out loans for their children or went back to school themselves later in life.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to retire so we can enjoy life, but we can’t, and I don’t know when or if we ever can,\u201d Nickle, who went back to school to earn a master\u2019s degree in special education when she was 49, told The Independent.<\/p>\n Student loan debt is commonly thought of as a young person\u2019s problem. But borrowers aged 35 and older outnumber them, according to the latest Department of Education data on federal student loan debt. <\/a>There are 24.6 million borrowers aged 35 and older compared to 20.2 million under that age, the data shows.<\/p>\n Older people also owe more money than younger people, <\/a>on average. Americans over 50 have approximately $47,500 in student loan debt compared to an estimated $27,300 for under-35s, according to the data. <\/p>\n Collectively, 9.5 million Americans over-50 owe close to half a trillion dollars in federal student loan debt.And there are 1.5 million more people over 62 years old with student loan debt today than a decade ago, according to the education department. <\/p>\n \u201cBorrowers are taking longer to repay their loans, and that’s why we’re seeing more older borrowers,\u201d explained Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit that offers free advice to consumers.<\/a><\/p>\n Another reason, Mayotte said, is the rise in non-traditional students. \u201cSo, not someone right out of high school going to college, but someone in their 30s or 40s going back to college trying to get better employment,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n The Independent spoke with three Americans in their 60s who are entering their golden years with punishing amounts of student loan debt. <\/p>\n The three, all members of the grassroots advocacy group Student Loan Justice, <\/a>said that despite making tens of thousands of dollars in repayments, their student loan balances have swelled due to interest accumulated over the years.<\/p>\n In addition to accruing interest, others have been hit with steep penalties for falling behind on payments, leaving them with balances in the six figures. A record 9.5 million Americans are more than nine months behind on their student loan payments, analysis from The Associated Press<\/a> revealed this week.<\/p>\n The student loan system also saw a major change this month by the Trump administration,<\/a>limiting the amount Americans can borrow while restricting their repayment options. The overhaul also axed the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE plan, a Biden-era initiative that calculated monthly payments based on income and a borrower\u2019s family size.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been working in this industry in a policy and advocacy role for over 25 years,\u201d Mayotte said. \u201cI have researched student loan policy back to the 60s, and I could say truthfully, without feeling like I’m being dramatic, that the past five years have been the most chaotic policy in the history of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cIt’s even difficult for experts to keep up lately. So, if it’s hard for experts to keep up, how do we expect the general consumer to?\u201d <\/p>\n \u2018People need to understand how this is really tearing lives apart\u2019<\/p>\n Nickle, from Pennsylvania, went back to school in 2015 to make the jump from teaching assistant to special education teacher, and took out a federal student loan for $73,000 to cover her studies.<\/p>\n The mom, 60, said she was inspired to get her master\u2019s because of her son, Alex, 37, who is disabled. \u201cIf I have a child in my classroom with a disability, I’ll fight for them,\u201d she told The Independent.<\/p>\n Despite making monthly payments of around $250, the accrued interest saw the balance peak at $100,600. Nickle said she has paid back more than $75,000 but still owes approximately $25,000. <\/p>\n \u201cIt’s sad\u2026I’ll talk about it with my husband and we say we\u2019ll never be able to retire unless I can get something done about this loan,\u201d Nickle said. \u201cPeople need to understand how this is really tearing lives apart.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the Biden-era SAVE plan, Nickle said her payments were manageable. \u201cIt was an affordable payment. It was wonderful,\u201d she said. But the Trump administration ended the SAVE plan July 1 – and Nickle, like millions of others, has seen her payments jump: in her case, to $600 a month.<\/p>\n \u2018There are people who have the funds. I was a single parent\u2019<\/p>\n Between 2011 and 2016, single parent and teacher Diane took out Parent PLUS loans totaling approximately $60,000 on behalf of her children, now 29 and 26, to cover their undergraduate degrees at four-year colleges in business management and physical therapy, respectively.<\/p>\n Parent PLUS loans tend to come with a higher interest rate and limited repayment options, something Diane said she wished had been made clearer to her at the time. Her balance stands at approximately $120,000, she told The Independent.<\/p>\n \u201cThe loan will outlive me. It’s just the way it is,\u201d the 61-year-old who lives in Torrance, California, and asked The Independent that her last name not be used for privacy reasons.<\/p>\n The Parent PLUS loan program was launched in 1980 and aimed at higher-income parents sending their children to more expensive private schools. But over time, more lower and middle-income families started using the loans as the price of public education increased. <\/p>\n It left many parents saddled with debt they\u2019ve been unable to pay off. In 2016, more than 200,000 families earning less than $40,000 took out a Parent PLUS loan, according to an NBC News report at the time<\/a>, citing federal data.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people who have the funds. I was a single parent, I didn’t have it. I wanted to give my children an education, so I didn’t have much of a choice,\u201d Diane said.<\/p>\n Diane, a transitional kindergarten teacher at a Title 1 school \u2014 a federally funded program which supports children from low-income families \u2014 is currently on an income-driven repayment plan.<\/a> Her monthly repayments are around $80. <\/p>\n \u201cLuckily, my payments are totally manageable,\u201d she said. \u201cBut [the total debt] is going to outlive me.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cI would love to do a little bit of travel, and not have to worry about working forever. But I don’t see retirement in my future.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Marie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_3647.jpeg\")
Marie Nickle, 61, is one of the millions of Americans who fears they\u2019ll never be able to retire due to their student loan debt. Nickle, pictured with husband Joe, returned to school in 2015 so she could qualify as a special education teacher (Marie Nickle)<\/p>\n![\"Nickle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_3596.jpeg\")
Nickle is one of 9.5 million Americans over 50 who collectively owe approximately $456.5 billion in federal student loan debt. She has paid back more than $75,000 of a $100,600 balance, but still owes approximately $25,000 (Marie Nickle)<\/p>\n![\"Nickle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2141952533...jpeg\")
Nickle said the Saving on a Valuable Education plan \u2014 a Biden administration initiative that calculated monthly payments based on income and a borrower\u2019s family size \u2014 was a huge help until it was recently axed by the Trump administration (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Betsy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1151696006.jpg\")
Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, said the last five years have been \u2018the most chaotic policy in the history of the program\u2019 in her more than 25 years of research (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
![\"Arizona](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1000036832.jpg\")
Arizona grandmother Carol Henderson-Dahms loves to work but believes she will die with student loan debt, she told The Independent. She described her debt as \u2018snowballing\u2019 over the decades, having been passed around so many different federal student loan servicers (Carol Henderson-Dahms)<\/p>\n