CBS NEWS EXPLORES STUDENT LOAN DEBT WITH “LIFE & DEBT,” A NEW SERIES FEATURED ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS, INCLUDING THE “CBS EVENING NEWS WITH JEFF GLOR,” “CBS THIS MORNING” AND CBSN

Coverage to Highlight Americans of All Ages – Millennials, Seniors and

Public Servants – Living in Debt

Can Americans get out from under crippling college debt? CBS News will explore that question and deliver division-wide coverage of student loan debt and the issues surrounding it, in a new series called “Life & Debt.” The series will examine how Americans have accumulated a record $1.5 trillion in student debt and introduce viewers to people hit hard by the rising costs of paying for college: millennials who are delaying milestones of adulthood to pay off their debt, senior citizens who are struggling to pay down their loans, and public service employees who thought they would be on the receiving end of a federal loan forgiveness program. “Life & Debt” will also feature interviews with experts who offer solutions on how to avoid college debt and remain debt-free.

The CBS EVENING NEWS WITH JEFF GLOR (6:30-7:00 PM, ET) begins the network’s comprehensive coverage tonight, April 30 and will air three consecutive reports on the topic as part of its ongoing “Eye on America” segment. Click here to watch a preview.

The coverage will expand to all CBS News platforms this week, including CBS THIS MORNING (7:00-9:00 AM); CBSN, the network’s 24/7 streaming news service; CBSNews.com; and CBS News Radio.

Tonight on the CBS EVENING NEWS and tomorrow on CBS THIS MORNING, CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann looks at millennial debt. Millennials owe double the average loan balance for their student loans than Generation X, and they are delaying marriage and home ownership to deal with the debt burden. Taylor Smith, a 25-year-old in Texas who graduated with roughly $53,000 in student debt, tells Strassmann she had to move back in with her parents after graduation and accept a job out of her field to keep up with loan payments. She talks about how her life is on hold. She has no plans to buy a house, get married or start a family until her student loans are under control. She talks about the panic that is now part of her daily life.

“The moment you get an acceptance letter from college, that’s really the moment you start taking on this debt,” Smith said.

On Wednesday night, Strassmann explores senior debt. Americans over 60 are the fastest-growing category of student loan borrowers, having quadrupled in number since 2005, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There are those who went back to school later in life to improve their job prospects, and those who took on loans for children and grandchildren. CBS News follows Seraphina Galante, of San Diego, who went back to school for a master’s degree in social work in her 50s. Now at age 76, she still owes more than $38,000 in student loans. Galante continues to work part-time as a social worker even though she is well into retirement age.

“This is a mountain that I will never be able to climb. I cannot even manage the whole interest rate every month, much less going into the $30,000 sum principle,” Galante said. “How is that ever going to happen in my lifetime, considering my age? This will follow me to my grave.”

Thursday’s CBS EVENING NEWS report will feature Debbie Baker. She is a former public school music teacher who was counting on the federal public service loan forgiveness program to wipe away her remaining student loan balance after 10 years. After a decade of diligently making on-time payments thinking she was on track for forgiveness, Baker received a rejection letter. She’s not alone: 99% of the 44,301 applications for federal public service loan forgiveness were denied. Strassmann speaks with her and Seth Frotman, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center and former student loan ombudsman at the CFPB. Frotman says student debt has hit a “crisis level” and explains what it means for society at large.

CBS News Radio, CBSNews.com and CBSN, CBS News’ 24/7 streaming news service, will feature extended versions of the reports and provide interviews with additional experts on the topic.

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