Nearly a quarter of Americans have someone in their households who currently hold student loan debt, according to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards and Morning Consult survey.
The website surveyed 2,201 adults and found that 23 percent of households in general and 34 percent of high earners with a household income of $100,000 or more owe student loan debt.
Half of the respondents, including the high earning adults, showed confidence in paying off their student loan debt while still being able to save for other personal priorities, including retirement.
The survey mostly looked at the retirement savings pattern of student loan borrowers. Overall, 26 percent of adults said they would fund their retirement accounts compared to 40 percent high earning adults.
Most of the respondents reported using a 401K/403B, IRA/Roth IRA and/or an investment portfolio. 401K or 403B as their saving is quite popular among high earning adults.
While another half of the respondents are concerned about not saving enough for retirement. For those with less income, collecting Social Security payments is their primary driver for retirement savings.
Some of the adults are also using services of financial advisors to better their financial planning and retirement advice which is higher among high earners,
“In evaluating the research, there seems to be a strong correlation between those saying they use a financial advisor and those saying they are confident in their ability to pay off student loans and save for retirement on their terms,” said Joe Maugeri, CFP Board’s Managing Director for Corporate Relations.
Recent reports have found that loans are also affecting many decisions of borrowers related to daily expenses like taking a vacation, going out for dinner or putting on some muscles in the gym. Some 60 percent of respondents said they don’t take vacations due to the financial stress of repaying debt, while 35 percent dine out less and 20 percent haven’t joined the gym.
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