Graduates face extended debt burden

UNEMPLOYMENT and defaulting on payments could lead to graduates still repaying their student loans after they reach the age of 50.

John Marsden, national sales director of PPS, the financial service provider for graduate professionals, said students who could not find a job soon after graduating or allowed their debt to increase by not paying, could be burdened with student loans in their 50s.

He said while there were no South African statistics, local graduates faced the same financial challenges of student debt as British graduates.

Marsden said it was vital that graduates kept track of their student loans and made a plan to factor in regular payments as soon as they started earning so that the debt did not grow to an unmanageable amount. - Nivashni Nair