Larry, 60, graduated from law school in 1990 with just over $68,000 in student debt.
Due to scholarships — along with Pell Grants from his undergraduate education — Larry, who requested his last name be withheld for privacy, was able to finish his higher education with what he said was a manageable balance at the time.
However, instead of jumping right into a high-paying job, Larry started his career as a public defender and later became a contracted juvenile attorney. Larry’s salary varied from month to month, and sometimes his paycheck was delayed. He had to place his student loans on forbearance for financial hardship from 2006 to 2009.
Interest still accrued during that time, causing his balance to grow — and as of 2023, it stood at $182,000, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider. While Larry stayed consistent on every monthly payment after coming out of forbearance, it impacted his ability to afford other key expenses, and he could not put away any money for retirement.
“For years, I didn’t have health insurance because health insurance was about the same price point as a student loan payment,” Larry told BI. “I had to use whatever savings I had to make sure the student loan was paid first because I didn’t want to ding on my credit report.”
Larry’s job brings him five figures in income, and while he loves the work and it brings him fulfillment, he struggled to balance his student-loan payments alongside his other daily expenses. He also said he did not want to fall behind on his payments because it could put his law practice at risk.
His financial trajectory completely changed on October 6, 2023, when he received an email from his servicer with the subject line: “Your Student Loans Have Been Forgiven.” The relief was a result of President Joe Biden’s one-time account adjustments for borrowers on income-driven repayment plans who have made payments for at least 20 years and qualified for forgiveness.
“I almost fainted in my office,” Larry said, recalling when he received that email. “I mean, I couldn’t even breathe. I didn’t do any work for the rest of the day. It was like euphoria. I couldn’t believe it.”
Larry is among the millions of student-loan borrowers over the past few years who have gotten loan forgiveness through Biden’s targeted relief efforts. The Education Department said it expects to complete its account adjustments in September, expected to bring borrowers on income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness up to date on their payment progress.
Along with his loan forgiveness, Larry also received a $1,800 refund for overpayments on his loans, which he said he used to pay off a medical bill and make reservations at a spa for himself and his wife.
“What I’ve now been able to do is put away some money,” Larry said. “I don’t have this huge bill hanging over my head anymore.”
‘I couldn’t save any money’
Larry isn’t alone — a growing number of older adults are entering retirement with student-debt loads. According to a recent report from the New Schools’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, over a million Americans aged 55 to 64 hold student loans or have spouses with a balance.
As he was making his payments over the past decade, Larry said that along with skipping out on health insurance, he sometimes had to borrow gas money to get to court for work — and while he was forced to decrease his workload due to his diabetes diagnoses, he couldn’t retire because he didn’t have any savings.
“There were office expenses, bar dues, car expenses, everything would cost money,” Larry said. “So I couldn’t save any money.”
Many Republican lawmakers have criticized student-loan forgiveness for benefiting people who are believed to make high salaries, like doctors and lawyers. GOP Sen. Tom Cotton, for example, wrote on X after the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s first attempt at broad debt cancellation that “Biden’s student loan transfer scheme required millions of Arkansans to pay off the loans of rich doctors and lawyers.”
However, having a law or medical degree doesn’t always mean a high salary. It’s been worth it for Larry, despite the financial challenges, and he’s grateful that he can enjoy the remainder of his career and enter retirement without a student-loan balance.
“We don’t always earn six figures,” Larry said. “We’re storefront lawyers, family lawyers, prosecutors, public defenders, government lawyers. My career has been wonderful. I’ve been able to practice what I want and how I want and make decisions about the trajectory of my career.”
Have you received student-loan forgiveness? Are you struggling with student loans? Share your story with this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.
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