The serious delinquency rate for student loans, meaning borrowers 90+ days past due, surged to 16.19% in Q4 2025, an ALL-TIME HIGH.

This exceeds the previous 2013 peak by more than 6 percentage points.

Borrowers aged 50+ were the hardest hit, with a delinquency rate of 22.42%, followed by the 40-49 age group at 16.76%.

Delinquencies spiked after the student loan relief period ended and missed payments began showing up on credit reports.