Meet a 64-year-old dad delaying retirement due to $265,000 in student debt for his 2 kids: 'I was going to do whatever was necessary to get my kids through and get them started in their careers'
Robert Pemberton was surprised it was so easy for him to take out loans to send his kids to school.
Now, Pemberton's debt load stands at $265,000 and, though he now makes a livable salary as a senior program manager for a computer manufacturer, his debt became unmanageable during a period of unemployment after his kids graduated, and while his wife was battling cancer. Each of Pemberton's kids took out about $30,000 in student loans themselves, but PLUS loans make it harder for parents to keep up with payments than a typical student-loan borrower. Also, parents with those loans don't seem to be included in the escalating national conversation about canceling student debt.
"I don't regret taking them, but I regret not reading closely," Pemberton said."I was going to do whatever was necessary to get my kids through and get them started in their careers."After Pemberton's kids graduated, he was unemployed for three years while his wife was battling cancer, and FedLoan Servicing — the company that manages Pemberton's loans — allowed him to defer his payments until he found a job.