US student loan debt has soared to $966 billion, nearly tripling from 2004 to 2012, according to new data from the New York Federal Reserve.
The Fed offers five reasons to explain this trend:
- More people attend college and graduate school
- Parents take out student loans for their children
- Students stay longer in college and more often attend graduate school
- Lower repayment rates as borrowers delay payments through deferments and forbearances
- Discharging student debt is very difficult and the balance stays with the borrower
Meanwhile, 17 percent of borrowers are now late on their debt payments. This is up from 10 percent in 2004.
What follows is the Fed's presentation showing the incredible rise of student debt and how it is quickly becoming a big problem.
Student debt is on the rise in all age groups.
It's the only type of debt that didn't fall after the crisis.
Most borrowers carry less than $25k of student loan debt.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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