The average person pays off their student loans around age 45, often taking roughly 18.5 to 20 years to fully repay their debt. While many borrowers aim to be debt-free by their early 40s, a significant portion of borrowers carry debt into their 50s and beyond, particularly with loans for their children's education.
You're not alone if you are still paying off your student loans from your college education years ago. In fact, many Americans are paying their student loans well into middle age. A 2019 study from New York Life found that the average age when people finally pay off their student loans for good is 45.
Are student loans forgiven when you retire? No, the federal government doesn't forgive student loans at age 50, 65, or when borrowers retire and start drawing Social Security benefits.
The loans for your course will be written off when you're 65, or 30 years after the April you were first due to repay – whichever comes first.
40- to 49-year-olds possess an average student loan debt of $44,798. In 2022, borrowers aged 29 and younger have an average $23,795 of in student loan debt. Adults 60 and over owe less than 10% of the national student loan debt. 14.8 million or 28.3% of adults under 30 years old have student loan debt.
The "7-year rule" for student loans generally refers to when negative marks, like defaults, are removed from your credit report (around 7 years after the first missed payment or default date for federal loans, 7.5 years for private loans), but the debt itself doesn't disappear and must be paid off; it's also a benchmark in bankruptcy proceedings where federal loans can become dischargeable after 7 years from when payments were due, though proving "undue hardship" is required and difficult.
If you have defaulted on your federal student loans and you receive Social Security Disability or retirement benefits, the federal government may withhold up to 15% of your benefits each month to pay back your student loan debt, as long as your remaining monthly benefit stays above $750. This is called an offset.
And when you include 60- and 61-year-old student loan debtors, the number jumps to more than 3.6 million, per a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau analysis. Within this demographic, the average loan balances range from $17,857 to $44,834.
Student Loan Borrower Statistics
20% of all American adults with undergraduate degrees have outstanding student debt; 24% postgraduate degree holders report outstanding student loans. 20% of U.S. adults report having paid off student loan debt. The 5-year annual average student loan debt growth rate is 1.66%.
Can private student loans take your house? Until you default on private student loans, your house is safe. Private lenders must sue the borrower and get a judgment before putting a lien on a home or taking money from a bank account.
Cancellation & Forgiveness Options
One important thing to remember is that student loans are written off after a certain period. For most plans, this happens after 30 years, although there are exceptions. For example, Plan 1 loans are written off when you turn 65 or after 25 years, depending on when your loan was paid.
College Debt by the Numbers
Let's look at some of the statistics on student loans: Average student loan debt (both federal and private) topped $40,904 in 2021. The average monthly student loan payment is an estimated $460. The average borrower takes 20 years to pay off student loan debt.
If you repay your loans under an IDR plan, the end of term balance on your student loans may be forgiven after you make a certain number of payments over 20 or 25 years (240 or 300 monthly payments). Use Loan Simulator to compare plans, estimate monthly payment amounts, and see if you're eligible for an IDR plan.
The "27.39 rule" (often rounded to $27.40) is a simple financial strategy to save $10,000 in one year by consistently setting aside $27.40 every single day, making it an achievable micro-saving habit to build wealth or an emergency fund. It turns the daunting goal of saving $10,000 into a manageable daily action, emphasizing consistency over large lump sums.
An 800 credit score is considered "exceptional" and, while not extremely common, it's achieved by a significant minority: roughly 23-24% of U.S. consumers have scores of 800 or higher, meaning nearly one in four people falls into this top tier, though far fewer (around 1.5-2%) hit a perfect 850. This level of credit is excellent for securing the best loan rates, requiring consistent on-time payments, very low credit utilization, and a long credit history.