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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Business
David Unyime Nkanta

Retired and Still Paying: Why Thousands of Pensioners Are Losing Social Security to Student Loans

Illustration purposes only (Credit: Cotton Bro/Pexels)

In a troubling trend for senior citizens, American pensioners are seeing a portion of their Social Security benefits withheld to repay outstanding student loans.

The figures are worrisome as nearly 114,000 Americans aged 62 and older saw their Social Security benefits reduced due to outstanding student loan debt, over 450,000 individuals had their benefits reduced and the total outstanding federal student loan debt surpassed $1.7 trillion (£1.25 trillion) as of 2025.

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