Investing

More than 7 million adults of ages 65 and above rent instead of own their homes, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.
Here are the pros and cons to renting instead of owning your home later in life. 

South_agency | E+ | Getty Images

Older Americans make up the largest share of homeowners in the U.S. compared to other generations. However, many are renting in their retirement years. 
Most older adults, those at least 65 years old, own their homes, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Yet, more than 1 in 5 older households — 7 million — rent instead of own, according to the 2023 Housing America’s Older Adults by the JCHS.

Renting in retirement years can be a positive because older people can avoid costly maintenance associated with the upkeep of a home. Renting also offers the flexibility to move vs. the complexity of selling a home, experts say.
“Renting often offers more amenities, less maintenance, more accessibility,” said Jennifer Molinsky, director of the housing an aging society program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies.
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However, older renters are subject to the same issue younger tenants face: rent price increases.
In 2022, half of all renter households, 22.4 million, were cost burdened, or spent more than 30% of their income on housing and utilities, the Center found in the 2024 State of the Nation’s Housing.

And unlike younger renters, adult renters in retirement years could be especially vulnerable to rent hikes because they are on fixed income, experts say.
“As a retired renter, you are faced each month with a housing expense for the rest of your life. It’s an expense that is not fixed, it is variable by market trends,” said certified financial planner Lazetta Rainey Braxton, CEO and president of The Real Wealth Coterie, a virtual wealth management and RIA firm.
 Braxton is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.

Why there are less older homeowners

In 2023, older baby boomers made up the largest share of home sellers at 45%, according to the National Association of Realtors. They were most likely to downsize their home. NAR defined younger baby boomers to have been 59 to 68 years old in 2023, and older boomers, are ages 69 to 77.
Meanwhile in 2022, the homeownership rate among households ages 65 and over was 79.1%, slightly lower from 79.5% in 2021, the Joint Center for Housing Studies found. The record high was 81.1% in both 2004 and 2012.
Similarly, homeownership for those between the ages of 50 and 64 dropped to 74.2% in 2022 from the two-decade high of 80.4% in 2004. This group was hit by the Great Recession and suffered a loss of homeownership, according to Molinsky.
To be sure, it can be hard to regain homeownership at the cusp of retirement age, she said. Their lower homeownership rate will likely foreshadow lower ownership rates in the future, the Center found.
Meanwhile, people who didn’t buy a home in their 40s and 50s are now aging, so “you’re now seeing people who have always been renters coming into their old age,” said Teresa Ghilarducci, a labor economist, retirement specialist and professor of economics at The New School for Social Research. 

Pros and cons to renting in retirement years

Being a renter, however, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re worse off than homeowners, Ghilarducci explained.
The cost of maintaining your home will vary. Experts recommend budgeting between 1% and 4% of your home’s value annually to cover typical home maintenance costs, according to Homeguide.com. For example: If your house is valued at $450,000, expect to budget from $4,500 to $18,000 for costs to upkeep your home.
Even if you’ve paid for the upkeep of your home over the years, elements in your house don’t stop deteriorating in your retirement years, experts point out.
Capital improvements like fixing or replacing the roofs can be difficult, said Molinsky. Additionally, there are tasks you may not want to do yourself anymore, and it can be expensive to hire a professional, she added.
Homeowners spent an average $9,542 on home improvements in 2023, a 12% increase from a year prior, according to the State of Home Spending by Angi. At the same time, the amount of projects decreased to an average of 2.8 projects in 2023 from 3.2 in 2022. The survey polled 6,400 consumers between Oct. 22 and Oct. 23.

While a fair amount of attention is paid on affording a home in retirement, it’s important to also consider the care and services you might need in order to stay in that house, said Molinsky. More

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on October 03, 2024 in New York City. 
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

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Here’s what CNBC TV’s producers were watching as stocks slid on Thursday, and what’s on the radar for the next session.

Jobs report on deck

Ahead of Friday’s jobs report, major indexes are all on pace to snap 3-week winning streaks.
The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials posted record closes on Monday. Both are down 0.7% so far this week.
The Nasdaq Composite hasn’t set a record close since July 10. It’s down 1.1% this week.
Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the U.S. added 150,000 jobs in September versus 142,000 in August. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4.2%.

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The S&P 500’s performance in 2024

Energy gains

The S&P 500’s top performer

The S&P 500’s best performer this year added to its gains on Thursday… and it’s not who you may think.
Vistra Corp jumped about 5.7% to another all-time high. Shares are up 75% in the past month and a whopping 244% in 2024.
The S&P 500’s No. 2 stock, Nvidia, is up 148% year to date.
Constellation Energy (+137%) and Palantir (+128%) are the only other two S&P stocks that have more than doubled this year.

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Vistra Corp’s 2024 performance

Amazon losing streak

The tech giant posted its seventh straight negative session on Thursday, its longest losing streak since September 2023.
Amazon shares are down 6.2% in that period.
The stock is still up almost 20% this year.

Tesla tumbles

Shares of Tesla fell for a third straight day, and now on pace for their worst week since April.
The stock is down 8% since Monday’s close and is now down 3% for the year.
Shares of General Motors and Ford are struggling this week, each down about 3% in the period.

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Tesla shares in 2024

Meta magic

Shares of the Facebook parent rose 1.7% Thursday and closed at a fresh all-time high.
Meta Platforms shares are up nearly 14% over the past month and nearly 65% this year.

Weight loss drug shortage is over

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed Eli Lilly’s weight loss and diabetes drugs from its shortage list late Wednesday.
Lilly, which makes Mounjaro and Zepbound, saw shares down 0.6% on Thursday.
Novo Nordisk, the maker of competing Wegovy and Ozempic, was down 1.2%.
Meanwhile shares of Hims & Hers, which offers compounded GLP-1 treatments, dropped 9.6%.

China rally cools

Q3 earnings season coming up

Next week marks the start of Q3 earnings season with Delta Air Lines, PepsiCo and several big banks on the calendar.
Pepsi reports Tuesday before the bell. Shares are up 3.7% in the last three months.
Delta reports Thursday before the bell. Shares are up 0.2% over the past three months.
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo come out Friday morning. JPM is down 1.7% and WFC down 9.4% in the past three months. More

As states work to recover from Hurricane Helene, they also have to watch for risks of price gouging and other scams that may crop up during the disaster recovery.
Here’s what consumers should watch for.

A van flows in floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28 in Asheville, North Carolina.
Sean Rayford | Getty Images News | Getty Images

States affected by Hurricane Helene are warning residents to watch for the risks of scams in the aftermath of the storm, including price gouging.
Price gouging happens when there is an excessive increase in prices charged for goods and services, and it often happens during emergencies or disasters.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein this week said his office has seen an uptick of complaints of alleged price gouging related to fuel and grocery prices and hotel rates.
In a Wednesday update, Stein said his office had fielded more than 100 price gouging complaints, he posted on social media platform X on Wednesday, despite the state’s anti-price gouging law that went into effect with the declaration of a state of emergency.
A spokesperson did not return a call from CNBC for further comment.
“Most stores are bending over backwards to serve their communities,” Stein said in a video accompanying the post.
“But unfortunately, there’s always going to be a few folks out there who take advantage of this moment and people’s desperation to make a quick buck,” he said.

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Attorneys general in other states affected by the storm — including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee — have issued similar warnings.  They are among the 37 states that have anti-price gouging statutes in place.
Normal price fluctuations are not price gouging, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a recent announcement.
But when necessities like a case of bottled water go from $5 to $10, or a chainsaw that normally sells for $100 jumps to $500, it’s “pretty obviously” price gouging, said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director at U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
“You know it when you see it,” Murray said.
Price gouging laws tend to kick in during states of disaster or emergency or during abnormal market disruptions, she said.
“Just because there’s a law doesn’t mean that people won’t try and violate it,” Murray said.
The terms of established price gouging protections vary from state to state. Meanwhile, 13 states do not have anti-price gouging laws.

Vice president Kamala Harris is pushing for Congress to establish a national ban on price gouging with her presidential campaign’s economic agenda.
Yet critics — including former President Donald Trump — have said anti-price gouging laws could have unintended consequences for businesses and the consumers they are intended to help, such as interfering with the supply of goods.

How to watch for price gouging, other scams

Consumers who spot higher than normal prices they suspect is price gouging should first approach the business with their concerns, according to Murray.
“Be nice about it, but call them out,” Murray said.
If they are unwilling to change, you may report it to the state attorney general, she said.
Keep in mind you do not necessarily have to buy the item; a picture of the item on the shelf with the price will work, Murray said.
Price gouging is not the only scam consumers need to watch for in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
States are also warning of other schemes that tend to crop up during disaster recoveries.

Individuals may pose as representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as insurance companies, the Small Business Association or law enforcement.
To avoid those imposter scams, the Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office warns not to share personal or financial information to individuals. Because FEMA and SBA services are free, consumers should be on alert if they’re asked to pay.
Likewise, residents of affected areas should also be wary of door-to-door offers for home repair work, as well as demands for full up-front or cash payments and offers to pay their insurance deductibles.
To avoid getting scammed, homeowners should talk to their insurance companies before making repairs and check out contractors by asking for references and looking to see if they have any complaints with the Better Business Bureau.
People who are in the market to buy a car should also be sure to check a vehicle’s history and where it came from before they make the purchase, to be sure they are not buying flood-damaged property, Murray explained.
Consumers can check a car’s history through the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s VINCheck as well as Carfax’s flood check.
Meanwhile, as people look to donate money to help the recovery, state attorneys general are also warning of the risk of charity scams.
To avoid sending money to the wrong place, donors can verify a charity by visiting websites Give.org or CharityNavigator.org. Also watch for websites that do not end in “.org” or “.com,” petitions for money over the phone and crowdfunding sites that may host unverified funding campaigns. More

The IRS free tax filing program, Direct File, will have 24 participating states for the 2025 filing season.
More than 30 million Americans will be eligible and Direct File has expanded to include more types of income, credits and deductions.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Danny Werfel testifies before the House Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill on May 07, 2024 in Washington, DC. 
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Next year, more than 30 million Americans in 24 states will be eligible for Direct File, the IRS’ free tax filing program, the agency and U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday.
The Direct File pilot was open to limited taxpayers in 12 states for the 2024 filing season, including Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

For the 2025 season, the program will add 12 new states, including Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the agencies told reporters on a press call.
More states are expected to join in 2026.
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Who can use IRS Direct File

“This year, taxpayers in Direct File’s 24 states will see far more tax situations covered than during last year’s pilot,” and the program will be available at the opening of tax season, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said Thursday on the press call. 
In 2024, the pilot program allowed simple filings — taxpayers with Form W-2 wages, Social Security retirement income, unemployment earnings and interest of $1,500 or less — but excluded contract income reported via Form 1099-NEC, gig economy workers and self-employed filers.

Next season, Direct File will also support interest income above $1,500, pension and annuity income (excluding individual retirement accounts) and Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends. 

During the pilot, Direct File supported the earned income tax credit, child tax credit and credit for other dependents.
For 2025, the program will add support for the child and dependent care credit, premium tax credit for Marketplace insurance, the credit for elderly or disabled and retirement saver’s credit.
Filers still must claim the standard deduction rather than itemizing tax breaks to participate.
Direct File will continue to allow certain “above-the-line” deductions, including tax breaks for student loan interest and educator expenses. In 2025, the program will also add support for health savings account contributions.
“Our goal is to gradually expand the Direct File scope to support more common tax situations, focusing in particular, on tax situations that impact working families,” Werfel said. More

ETF Strategist

Buffer exchange-traded funds, also known as defined-outcome ETFs, use options contracts to limit losses while capping upside potential.
As of August 2024, there were 327 buffer ETFs, representing more than $54.8 billion in assets, up from 73 ETFs and roughly $4.6 billion in August 2020, according to Morningstar Direct.
But buffer ETFs are complicated and more costly than traditional ETFs, experts say.

Jordi Mora Igual | Moment | Getty Images

If you’re seeking refuge from market volatility, so-called buffer exchange-traded funds provide some downside protection. But these ETFs also limit upside potential and come with higher fees, experts say.  
Buffer ETFs, also known as defined-outcome ETFs, use options contracts to offer investors a pre-defined range of outcomes over a set period. The funds are tied to an underlying index, such as the S&P 500.

These funds have been “one of the fastest-growing areas of the ETF market” over the past five years, with demand surging in 2022 as investors faced correlating losses from stocks and bonds, said Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar. 

More from ETF Strategist

Here’s a look at other stories offering insight on ETFs for investors.

As of August 2024, there were 327 buffer ETFs, representing more than $54.8 billion in assets, up from 73 such ETFs and roughly $4.6 billion in August 2020, according to data from Morningstar Direct. 

The funds create a ‘buffer zone’

Buffer ETFs have an “outcome period,” which only applies if investors buy and hold the fund for a set window, typically one year.
During the outcome period, the funds have “a buffer zone” that protects investors from some losses and caps returns above a certain threshold, Armour explained.
For example, a buffer ETF could shield investors from the first 10% of losses while limiting upside returns to 15%. However, you may not get full upside exposure when buying midway through the outcome period.

Similarly, selling before the outcome period ends could limit downside protection.

People need to be aware that if they buy and sell during that period, they might not be getting what they think they’re signing up for.

Bryan Armour
Director of passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar

“People need to be aware that if they buy and sell during that period, they might not be getting what they think they’re signing up for,” Armour said.
Plus, buffer ETF investors typically don’t receive dividends, which have contributed up to 2.2% annual returns to the S&P 500 over the past 20 years, according to Morningstar.
Another downside is the assets have higher fees than traditional ETFs, with 0.8% for the average buffer ETF compared to 0.51% for the average ETF, Armour said.
Overall, the biggest drawback is “opportunity cost,” depending on your alternative investment options, he said.

The benefits of buffer ETFs

Despite the trade-offs, buffer ETFs could be attractive to more conservative investors, depending on their goals, risk tolerance and timeline, experts say.
“I really like these buffered ETFs and have been using them for client portfolios for a while,” said certified financial planner David Haas, president of Cereus Financial Advisors in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.
On top of some downside protection and market exposure, buffer ETFs also offer “immediate liquidity” if you need access to the cash, he said.
Armour said the ETFs could work best for investors with “low risk tolerance” and a shorter timeline, so long as they understand how this asset works. More

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on September 19, 2024, in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

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Here’s what CNBC TV’s producers were watching on Wednesday and what’s on the radar for the next session.

On the line

T-Mobile hit an all-time high on Wednesday. The stock is up 15.6% in three months.
AT&T is up about 18% in three months. It is just off the mid-September high.
Verizon is up 9.6% in three months. It’s also just off the 52-week high hit in late September.

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Verizon shares in the past three months

The port strike impact

CNBC TV’s Pippa Stevens will go through the list of commodities that could see price changes because of the port strike.
The list is long, but it includes sugar, cocoa and coffee.
Coffee is up 72% in the last year, a lot of that is due to weather. Coffee is down 4.7% in the last week.
Cocoa has doubled in a year. It is down 12% in a week.
Sugar is up about 17% in a month, but down more than 3% in a week.

Office real estate investment trusts

CBRE hit a new all-time high Wednesday. It is up 43.5% in three months.
Vornado is up 51% in three months, standing 1.5% from the mid-September high.
BXP is up 30% in three months. It is 4.4% from the Sept. 19 high.
Brandywine Realty Trust is up 26% in three months. It hit a new high Wednesday.
SL Green is up 24% in three months. The stock is 6.5% from the Sept. 18 high.

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SL Green shares in the past three months

Crypto

CNBC’s Emily Wilkins in our Washington bureau will go in-depth on the Republican candidates getting behind crypto.
Coinbase is down 14% in three days. It’s 42% from the March high.
MicroStrategy is down 6.5% in three days. Shares are 17% from the March high.
Riot Platforms is down 7.5% in three days. It’s 61% from the December high.
Galaxy Digital is down 11% in three days. It is 13% from the high which was hit last week.
Cleanspark is down 13% in three days. Shares are 64% from the March high.
Bitcoin itself is down 4% in a week, standing in the $60,000 range.

Constellation Brands

The spirits company reports in the morning before the bell.
Constellation Brands is down 1% in the past three months.
It is up 6% in one month.
The stock is 7% from the April high.
Constellation’s brands include Modelo and Corona beer. Casa Noble Tequila and Svedka Vodka are also in the portfolio. More

Roth individual retirement account conversions shift pretax or nondeductible IRA funds to a Roth IRA, which provides future tax-free growth.
But the move boosts your adjusted gross income and can trigger other tax consequences, experts say.

Baona | E+ | Getty Images

As year-end approaches, you may be eyeing Roth individual retirement account conversions.
The strategy, however, boosts your income, which can have other tax consequences, experts say.

Roth conversions shift pretax or nondeductible IRA funds to a Roth IRA, which provides future tax-free growth. But the converted balance boosts your current-year adjusted gross income.
Additionally, increasing your AGI can have “completely unintended” ramifications, said certified financial planner JoAnn May. She is also a certified public accountant and the principal and co-founder at Forest Asset Management in Riverside, Illinois.
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Whether you’re making Roth conversions or incurring other income, you need to monitor your AGI throughout the year, experts say. Otherwise, you could lose eligibility for certain tax breaks or unexpectedly trigger tax hikes.
For example, once earnings pass a certain threshold, Social Security recipients can owe taxes on up to 85% of benefit income, May said.

Higher AGI also makes it harder to claim the medical expense deduction, she said. For 2024, you can deduct unreimbursed costs above 7.5% of your AGI, assuming you itemize tax breaks.
Here are a couple of other major tax issues to watch, experts say.

You could pay ‘excess premiums’ for Medicare

If you’re approaching Medicare age or already enrolled, boosting your AGI could also impact income-related monthly adjustment amounts, or IRMAA, for Medicare Part B and Part D premiums.
The income used to determine IRMAA is based on your modified adjusted gross income, which is your AGI plus tax-exempt interest. There’s a two-year lookback for IRMAA, meaning your 2024 MAGI could impact IRMAA for 2026.
“That’s a big piece,” Ashton Lawrence, CFP and director at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, South Carolina previously told CNBC. “No one likes paying excess premiums.”

For 2024, the standard monthly Medicare Part B premium is $174.70. But that could be higher if your 2022 MAGI was above $103,000 as an individual or $206,000 as a married couple.
Those earnings thresholds are a cliff and Roth conversion income could push you into the next bracket, experts warn.  
“The last thing you want is to peak right over that bracket by $1,” Lawrence said. “Now your Medicare premiums have just jumped up substantially.”

You could lose marketplace tax credits

Another reason to watch your AGI is the marketplace health insurance tax break, known as the premium tax credit, which is currently enhanced through 2025.
In 2024, some 92% of marketplace enrollees, or 19.7 million people, were eligible for the advance payments of the premium tax credits, which reduce yearly health insurance premiums by $700 on average, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
However, calculating credit eligibility can be complicated because it’s based on the difference between a benchmark premium — the cost of the second-lowest-cost silver plan available in an area — and a maximum contribution based on a percentage of income. 
To avoid eligibility issues, Forest Asset’s May said she skips Roth conversions for a client claiming the premium tax credit. More

A measure designed to help student loan borrowers with their payments expired this week, putting some borrowers at risk of delinquency.
As of Sept. 30, missed payments can be reported to credit agencies.

The one-year grace period for student loan borrowers who miss a payment expired this week. And yet, millions of Americans are likely unprepared to give up that key safety net.
The goal of the 12-month “on ramp” to repayment was to give borrowers some breathing room as they worked student loan payments back into their budgets. Although interest still accrued on their balances, missed payments did not damage their credit.

As of Sept. 30, however, student loan servicers are once again able to report missed payments to credit agencies, which means falling behind could hurt your credit score — that three-digit number that lenders use to determine if you can borrow, and the interest rate you’ll pay for credit cards, car loans and mortgages.
Generally speaking, the higher your credit score, the better off you are when it comes to getting a loan.
Recent studies show some borrowers are at risk of not being able to keep up.

Some borrowers haven’t made payments in years

Congress initially passed legislation to allow federal student loan borrowers to pause their loan payments in March 2020 as part of the Covid economic response. During that time, interest rates on most federal loans were set to zero. It’s now been roughly a year since student loan payments resumed.
Almost half, 47%, of borrowers said they’ve made at least some payments since the end of the payment pause, but 26% said they made no payments at all, according to a new report by the National Endowment for Financial Education. The nonprofit in August polled 813 adults who have or had student loan debt.

“When you have to cut $500 to $1,000 from the monthly budget, that’s a significant amount of dollars people don’t have for other things,” said NEFE president and CEO Billy Hensley, a member of the CNBC Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board. “This will continue to be a shock and reverberate around the kitchen table.”
A separate report by Intuit Credit Karma also found that 20% of student loan borrowers have not made any payments toward their student loans since the pause ended and the majority — 69% — of borrowers who have not been paying on time said they will not be able to afford to pay down the interest they’ve accrued.
Many of those borrowers are now worried their credit score will take a hit once their student loan payment history is reported to the credit bureaus, Credit Karma found. In August, the site surveyed nearly 2,000 adults with outstanding student loan debt.

Consequences could be ‘catastrophic’

HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 29: Students study in the Rice University Library on August 29, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images

“When you don’t pay something for 4½ years the intent is clear, you are not going to pay,” said certified financial planner Ted Jenkin, CEO and founder of oXYGen Financial in Atlanta, referring to the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan payments.
“Many believe that someone is going to bail them out and I think it’s going to end badly for a lot of people,” said Jenkin, who is also a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.
In fact, 48% of student loan borrowers anticipate debt forgiveness in the future, according to Sallie Mae’s annual How America Pays for College report. Of those who expect forgiveness, 37% plan to work in public service, while 7% say their future employer will pay for their loans. The biggest share, 47%, think the government will forgive student loans.
While there are still opportunities for relief, missed payments could now come at a high cost for borrowers, Jenkin said. “It’s going to be catastrophic to their credit score.”

How a missed payment can hurt your credit score

Student loan delinquencies will show up on your credit report once they hit 90-days past due, according to Liz Pagel, senior vice president of consumer lending at TransUnion.
“If a consumer misses their October payment and still hasn’t made the payment in November or December, then in January they will be reported as 90-days past due for that October payment and that is when their credit will be negatively impacted,” she said.
TransUnion data shows that just over half of student loan borrowers made payments over the past several months. 
“That doesn’t necessarily mean that these consumers cannot make the payments,” Pagel said. “Some may have made a logical choice to hold off awaiting possible loan forgiveness or just because they were aware that their credit would not be affected by not making payments.”
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To be sure, working those payments back into budgets after a four-year hiatus may require some sacrifices.
In the last year, roughly three-quarters of borrowers with student loan balances have had to make budgetary changes in order to make their payments, according to the NEFE report.
“If you don’t want your credit rating impacted, you have to develop a budget and figure out how you are going to incorporate student loan payments into that budget,” said Andrew Housser, co-founder and co-CEO of personal finance site Achieve.
“It’s crucial to look at options for consolidating other debts and reducing interest rates where possible,” Housser explained.

Of those with outstanding loans, 31% said they are less likely to pursue additional education, after taking the end of the repayment pause into account, NEFE also found.
A separate study commissioned by EdAssist by Bright Horizons also highlighted the impact student loan debt has had on borrowers.
To that point, 53% of U.S. workers said that knowing they would incur additional debt has prevented them from pursuing more education.
And as much as 86% of workers with education debt said their degree wasn’t worth the toll that student loans has had, according to Bright Horizons’ fourth annual education index, which in May polled more than 2,000 adults who are employed either full- or part-time.
Consumer advocates often caution students not to borrow more than you expect to earn as a starting salary.
“Higher education needs to do a better job of helping people understand the earning potential of a degree,” said NEFE’s Hensley. “We need to talk through how to launch and what that plan looks like.”
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