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By Suzanne Blake
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Older Americans are showing some of the most concerning signs of trouble with their student loans as millions of borrowers struggle to stay current following years of disruption to the federal repayment system.
Gen X borrowers had a student loan delinquency rate of 10.4 percent, compared with 9.7 percent for millennials and 9.6 percent for Gen Z, according to Credit Karma's 2026 Student Loan Debt Report released this week.
The report specifically examined TransUnion data for 24.2 million Credit Karma members with open student loans at the end of the third quarter of 2026.
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But larger data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows a similar trend of older borrowers among those experiencing more severe repayment difficulties.
Borrowers who entered federal student loan default in late 2025 or the first quarter of 2026 were 38.9 years old on average, compared with 36.4 among those entering default before the pandemic.
“Older generations are especially at risk given the number of claims that already exist on their financial profiles,” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek. “Whether it's housing expenses, healthcare costs, or now higher inflation, delinquencies will likely continue to rise.”
Why It Matters
Federal student loan defaults have climbed sharply. More than 9.3 million borrowers were in default as of June, which marked an increase of approximately 400,000 from March, according to the latest Federal Student Aid data.
And while student debt is often associated with Americans who have recently left college, the current repayment crunch is affecting borrowers well into middle age.
The New York Fed found that among borrowers who recently entered student loan default, nearly 40 percent of those with auto loans were behind on those loans, 56 percent of those with at least one credit card were past due on a card and 20 percent of mortgage holders were behind on their mortgage.
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What To Know
As of June, Federal Student Aid reported that 42.3 million recipients owed more than $1.7 trillion in outstanding federal student loans.
And while Gen X borrowers aren't necessarily carrying the greatest amount of student debt collectively, they have the highest delinquency rate among the three younger generations, according to Credit Karma.
In that report, 4.9 million Gen X members had student debt, with a total balance of $264.3 billion and a median balance of $30,600. Of those borrowers, 50.9 percent were fully current, 38.5 percent had loans in deferment and 10.4 percent were delinquent.
“Gen X is getting squeezed from both directions. Many are still paying off their own education or loans they took out for their kids. While helping aging parents & trying to save for retirement. Something eventually has to give,” Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek.
“And the timing couldn't be worse. A 25-year-old who falls behind has decades to recover financially. Someone who's 55? He or she doesn't have that luxury.”
Millennials represented the largest group of borrowers in Credit Karma’s report. Some 12 million millennial members held $549.7 billion in student debt, with a median balance of $25,400. Their delinquency rate was 9.7 percent.
Meanwhile, Gen Z had the lowest median balance of the three, at $15,500, and a delinquency rate of 9.6 percent. But Gen Z also had a particularly high proportion of loans in deferment, at 47.2 percent.
Baby boomers, meanwhile, complicate the idea that delinquency simply increases with age. Their delinquency rate was lower, at 8.3 percent, while members of the Silent Generation had a 7 percent rate.
What Is Student Loan Delinquency?
A federal student loan becomes delinquent as soon as a borrower fails to make the full required payment by its due date. In other words, a loan is considered past due beginning one day after a missed payment.
The loan stays delinquent until the borrower pays the past-due amount or makes another arrangement, such as changing repayment plans or receiving a deferment or forbearance
The severity of that delinquency also differs substantially by generation. Among Credit Karma members who were already at least 90 days past due, 64.8 percent of delinquent Gen X borrowers were at least 270 days past due, compared with 64.3 percent of delinquent millennials and 46.2 percent of delinquent Gen Z borrowers.
“What concerns me most is the retirement damage. Missed payments can hurt credit, make borrowing more expensive, and force people to divert money from retirement savings just to catch up,” Ryan said.
“You can recover from a bad credit score. Recovering the last 10 years of retirement savings? That's a whole different story.”
What Happens if My Student Loans Go into Delinquency?
The consequences of delinquency generally become more serious the longer a federal student loan remains unpaid.
Although the loan becomes delinquent after the first missed due date, once a borrower reaches 90 days of delinquency, the loan servicer reports the delinquency to national credit bureaus. A delinquency on a borrower's credit history can make it more difficult to qualify for other forms of credit and can result in higher borrowing costs.
Specifically, poor credit may make it harder to obtain credit cards, auto loans or mortgages.
The New York Fed analyzed borrowers entering federal student loan default during the fourth quarter of 2025 and first quarter of 2026 and compared them with borrowers who entered default from the second quarter of 2018 through the fourth quarter of 2019.
It found recent defaulters averaged 38.9 years old, 2.5 years older than the pre-pandemic group, which averaged 36.4.
“Given the stereotype of younger borrowers being the ones who ignore financial responsibility, it may stun some to learn Gen X are the ones with the highest rate of student loan delinquency,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
“While inflationary pressures have hit all age groups hard, Gen X has had some of the most fierce financial headwinds, as many are struggling to manage mortgage or rent payments, rising healthcare and grocery costs, and potentially also providing for children and even grandchildren.”
Repercussions of Not Paying Student Loans
The most severe consequences occur when delinquency progresses into default.
For Direct and FFEL loans, that generally occurs after at least 270 days without scheduled payments. After a federal loan enters default, it can be transferred to the Department of Education's Default Resolution Group; defaulted FFEL loans may instead be transferred to a guaranty agency.
Federal law also provides the government with many collection tools for unresolved defaulted debt. After more than 360 days without payment, involuntary collections can include administrative wage garnishment of up to 15 percent of a borrower's paycheck and Treasury offsets that can withhold tax refunds or certain federal benefits.
The New York Fed also estimated that roughly 1 million federal student loan borrowers entered default in the fourth quarter of 2025 and an additional 2.6 million did so during the first quarter of 2026. More than 17 percent of student loan borrowers had fallen at least 90 days behind at least once since delinquencies began appearing again on credit reports in the first quarter of 2025.
“With student debt being some of their oldest and least urgent repayment, Gen X may be choosing to ignore them in favor of navigating other payments,” Beene said. “Of course, the issue is not paying will impact their credit scores and make them targets for wage garnishments if and when they’re implemented. Even if the hope is for the debt to be forgiven down the line, failing to meet your repayment obligation now is setting you up for failure long term.”
What Happens Next
Millions of federal borrowers remain either delinquent, in default or outside of active repayment.
As of June, roughly 8 million federally managed borrowers had at least one loan in forbearance, down around 400,000 from March, while more than 3.3 million had at least one loan in deferment.
When it comes to older generations still battling student debt, Thompson said there are significant retirement risks, especially as the Department of Education reintroduces the idea of wage garnishment.
“I suspect we may see people simply bite the bullet and take out 401(k) loans or tap home equity lines of credit just to avoid having their wages garnished,” Thompson said.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gabe Whisnant, Gray R. Thomas
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