In decades past, people in their 40s had largely already put their own student-loan debts behind them and were able to turn their attention to preparing to help their children pay for their educations. More recently, though, educational debt has become a persistent trouble for Americans, weighing down their finances well into adulthood.
Indeed, a 2013 Federal Reserve Bank of New York study showed that student-loan delinquency rates among those 40 to 49 were the highest of any age group as of the fourth quarter of 2012 -- more than 16 percent -- with other age groups falling in the range of 9 percent to 13 percent. With a third of student loan debt held by Americans over age 40, many parents don't have the luxury of being able to give their children's education as much financial attention as they'd like
