February 2, 2023

Student Debt Plan Helps Black Retirees

For the sliver of retirees who are far behind in paying their own or their children’s student loans, Social Security can withhold part of their benefits to pay the loans back.

But college has gotten much more expensive since the baby boomers attended, and loan delinquencies are higher among working people and especially Black Americans. When today’s Black workers retire, their estimated household delinquency rate will be 5.4 percent – well more than double the rate for White and Hispanic retirees.

The question is how withholding Social Security benefits will impact the financial security of these future retirees. In cases where the federal government withholds some benefits, it garnishees the lesser of 15 percent of a delinquent borrower’s monthly retirement benefit or the amount of the benefit that exceeds $750 per month. Social Security’s average monthly benefit is currently $1,827.

The withholding practice would reduce working households’ retirement income in the future by an estimated average of 4 percent, according to the Center for Retirement Research.

Even this seemingly small decline in income can have a big impact on people who are struggling. The loss of retirement income will fall hardest on Black Americans, who are more likely to borrow for college but who earn less and will have more difficulty repaying their loans.

Whether the burden on retirees will be lightened could be determined by two lawsuits the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear later this month challenging the Biden administration’s plan for student debt relief. If the court allows the administration to proceed, the government would extend up to $10,000 in student debt forgiveness to borrowers. Lower-income students who received Pell grants to subsidize college could receive an additional $10,000.

This financial relief would wipe out the debt for a significant share of borrowers and sharply reduce the delinquencies that trigger the withholding of Social Security benefits and can undermine retirement security, especially for minority borrowers who are more likely to receive Pell grants. …
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