Part of the reason for this massive increase is the huge increase in numbers of younger and older borrowers. In 2000 there were only 579 student loan borrowers aged 60 years or older. In 2010 the figure was 2,568. For the under 20's the numbers of borrowers had increased from 35,907 to 55,158.
It's great that people of any age can study but unmanageable student loan debt has a big impact on too many people. We have many clients who borrowed when they were just teenagers, some as young as 15 years, who did not understand the debt they were taking on. Some of them were told that if they earned beneath a certain amount they wouldn't have to pay anything back, even if they went overseas. Some of these people are now in their 30's and 40's and unable to start a family or buy a house.
Having a student loan debt when you are about to retire can also be deeply harmful to your financial and emotional well being.
There are lots of ways we can help you if your student loan debt is getting you down, but we also think that the whole scheme needs an overhaul.