It’s not just students who are carrying those large loan balances — parents and grandparents are helping to shoulder the load (and incur the resulting stress as well). (Photo: Shutterstock)
The effect that student loan debt has on people’s lives doesn’t stop at students.
In fact, according to a year-long study, sponsored by TIAA and conducted by the MIT AgeLab, such debt weighs on everything from retirement planning to conflict within families and even longevity and romantic relationships.
The stress of dealing with student loans can be high, particularly as balances mount. And it’s not just students who are carrying those balances, as parents and grandparents are helping to shoulder the load.
Not surprisingly, 84 percent of borrowers say that student loans take a toll on their ability to save for retirement, and 73 percent of borrowers stay they’re stalling on increasing or maximizing retirement savings till their loans are paid off.
And 26 percent aren’t saving for retirement at all, pointing to student loans as the culprit.
Thirty-seven percent of borrowers say those loans have affected their relationships with their significant other.
But that doesn’t mean they’re talking with family members about those loans—in fact, 40 percent of borrowers with loans for themselves and 36 percent of borrowers with loans for a child or grandchild say they never speak with their family about their student loans.
That means that in a lot of cases, family members have no idea that student loans are causing financial stress.
More than half of borrowers with loans for themselves (51.4 percent) and 31 percent of borrowers with loans for a child or grandchild say their family knew “nothing” or “very little” about their student loans.
Surprisingly, student loan debt can have an effect on longevity. Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, which did the research, says, “We have always known that longevity can be optimized by having access to retirement security and support from family. What we now know is that for borrowers across the age spectrum, student loan debt can create shocks to both.”
TIAA president and CEO Roger Ferguson says the intent is not to discourage people from pursuing a college education. “To be sure, getting a college degree remains one of the smartest investments a person can make in their financial future – but saving for retirement is equally important. We believe that advice and coaching are key to navigating what can seem like competing demands.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
