Star Tribune By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel Washington Post Mar. 14, 2017 A new analysis of federal student loans reveals the number of people severely behind on repaying their debt has soared in the last year, painting a bleak picture of one of the largest government programs. The Consumer Federation of America released a study Tuesday that found that millions of people had not made a payment on $137 billion in federal student loans for at least nine months in 2016, a 14 percent increase in defaults from a year earlier. The consumer watchdog used the latest data from the Education Department, which manages $1.3 trillion in federal student debt owed by 42.4 million Americans. What's striking about the findings is that Americans now more than ever have a variety of repayment options to avoid default. The Obama administration expanded programs that cap monthly payments to a percentage of earnings, but even though millions of people are enrolled in those income-driven plans, there' still a disconnect. Cont... Student loan defaults soar as millions miss payments - StarTribune.com Ask not for whom the Pell tolls.
