At a whopping $1.7 trillion, student debt is a major issue for many Americans, but recent data shows that it's those aged 25 to 49 who are the most burdened, reported CNBC. Data from Experian indicates that Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 owed a collective $500.50 billion, while those from the age of 35 to 49 owe $601.70 billion, making these two age groups account for the majority, about $1.1 trillion worth, of that $1.7 trillion total. Last year, Experian reported that consumers in their mid-30s had the highest balances, and CNBC suggested that, with payments paused for most of 2020, that is probably still true. Also, not all those in the 35-49 bracket are students; many of those incurring debt in this age group are parents of students. As one might imagine, those aged 62 and older were the least burdened, accounting for $86 billion, followed by those 24 years and younger, who owe $115 billion between them.

President-elect Joe Biden has said he supports immediately forgiving $10,000 from every outstanding federal student loan balance, although some within his party are pressing for $50,000 instead or just canceling all student debt out of hand. This can theoretically be done solely through executive action, but Biden has said he wants Congress to craft a bill. It is currently unknown how firm any sort of plan for debt cancellation is at this moment.