6 Findings From the Urban Institute’s Study on Student Loan Debt

Many people who are considering filing Las Vegas bankruptcy have substantial student loan debts. Because the bankruptcy code does not treat student debtors very kindly, they face significant hurdles to making a fresh start. That does not mean bankruptcy is unhelpful or impossible, but it does mean that debtors need an experienced Las Vegas bankruptcy lawyer to help them navigate their options. Student debtors who are anxious about their financial situations are not alone, as the Urban Institute has documented with its policy paper, “Forever in Your Debt: Who Has Student Loan Debt, and Who’s Worried?” Here are six facts from the study.

• 57 percent of debtors surveyed claim that they are “concerned that they may be unable to repay that debt,” though when the number of people in the survey who supplied no response or said they didn’t know were excluded, the percentage falls slightly to 54 percent.
• Student loan debtors exist across the income spectrum. 20 percent of people who make less than $25,000 per year have student loan debt while 18 percent who make more than $100,000 have debt.
• 40 percent of people under 30 have student loan debt, 70 percent under 40 do as well.
• By contrast, the percent of people who are worried about repaying their debt is fairly even across 10-year age brackets, between 55 and 60 percent.
• However, predictably, the percentage of student loan debtors who are worried about their debts decreases with income. The less money one earns, the more one worries about his or her debt. 72 percent of people making less than $25,000 annually worry about their student loan debt. Likewise, people who work full-time are less likely to worry about their debt than people who work part-time, are self-employed, or are unemployed.
• The good news for Las Vegans is that Americans living outside the Northeast are less likely to worry about their debt and owe less too.

If you have student loan debt, and it’s causing you financial difficulties, then discussing your situation with an experienced Las Vegas bankruptcy lawyer can help you explore your options. A chapter 7 bankruptcy, for example, can discharge credit card debt and free up money for paying down student loans.

For more questions about bankruptcy in Las Vegas, please feel free to contact an experienced Freedom Law Firm Las Vegas bankruptcy attorney for a free initial consultation. Call us at 1-702-803-9251 to set up your free consultation.