Financial Barriers Are Obstacles To College For Both Old And Young

Abstract:

Nearly 20 percent of all Americans are between the ages of 55 and 79, and most have no plans of going quietly into their retirement years. According to Framing New Terrain: Older Adults & Higher Education, a new report from the American Council on Education (ACE), the average retirement age and life expectancy in 1950 was 68, meaning most people worked their entire lives.

Today, the average retirement age is down to 62 and the average life expectancy has increased to 78. Older Americans have more time on their hands during retirement than ever before. Some will go back to college for personal enrichment, but many others need higher education to help them retool their skills for second careers or jobs to supplement their retirement income. For those students, finances can be a major barrier to college.

The full article was published in several state association’s across the U.S. in October 2007.