A third of 25- to 34-year-olds have student debt — here’s how other age groups stack up – CNBC

Younger Americans — specifically those who are 25 to 34 years old — make up the age group where student debt is most common. In fact, a third of adults in this age range have federal student loan debt, according to recent data from The Washington Post.

These findings don’t come as much as a surprise as adults who are 25- to 34-years-old are likely all recent college graduates.

The next age group where we see student debt most widespread is in 18- to 24-year-olds, followed closely by those aged 35 to 49. Here’s a full breakdown of the percentage of each age group with federal student loan debt:

While we ideally expect student debt loads to become smaller as people get older, since borrowers have more time to make payments, being in your later 20s and early 30s with student loans can certainly put you in a tough financial bind. In this age range you’ve had some time since graduating to build a career with a salary that allows you to make monthly payments, yet you’re also faced with other competing financial commitments whether that be a first-time mortgage, building a family or even adding graduate student loans onto your higher education debt.

It’s important for adults in this age group to consider what monthly payments are higher priority (things like rent, utility bills and a car loan). This can also include expenses that allow you to work and bring in income, such as child care costs. With federal student loan payments on pause, right now is a good time to make sure these other payments are taken care of.

Others who have some savings set aside can go ahead and continue making student loan payments even with the pause. Since any payments during the freeze will be made directly toward your principal, you can chip away at it faster than if you were paying on an interest-accruing balance. Plus, when the forbearance period does end and payments and interest resume, you will then have a smaller balance, which means less interest will be able to accrue.

If you have private student loans

Private student loan borrowers are in a different boat since there hasn’t been a payment or interest pause on their loans. These borrowers may want to consider refinancing with a top lender to see if they can score a lower interest rate than the one they pay now.

With the expectation of more interest rate hikes in the coming months, now is a good time to refinance any high, variable-interest debt before it gets more expensive. Refinancing to a fixed interest rate locks you in for that same rate for the duration of your new loan term. In today’s economic conditions, it’s likely that a fixed rate today will be lower than a fixed rate months down the line.

A lender like SoFi offers fixed-rate loans with loan terms of five, seven, 10, 15 and 20 years, plus no origination fees to refinance. Borrowers with also have the option to apply with a co-signer, plus get access to payment protections, free career coaching and financial advice from planners.