Student loan borrowers are actively working to build assets and financial stability, establishing credit, securing housing, and advancing economic mobility for themselves and their families. When student debt tips into default, those efforts can be derailed for years, with consequences that ripple across household balance sheets and community wealth.
In 2026, that risk is escalating. Approximately 9 million student loan borrowers are currently in default or significantly behind on their payments as years of payment pauses and shifting federal policy give way to renewed repayment and enforcement. The U.S. Department of Education is beginning to implement repayment-related provisions in H.R.1, creating a rapidly changing—and often confusing—landscape for borrowers navigating repayment and relief options.
Despite the scale of the challenge, student loan default has largely been absent from philanthropic conversations about family economic security, even though millions of affected borrowers are low- or middle-income. Defaults can erode credit, limit access to housing and employment, and stall long-term wealth building, making this issue highly relevant to funders focused on economic mobility and asset preservation.
This webinar equipped funders with a practical understanding of student loan default and its implications for asset building, including:
- Who is most at risk of default and why those risks matter for long-term economic mobility
- How default affects borrowers’ financial futures, including credit, housing access, and wealth-building opportunities
- Why student loan default deserves greater attention in philanthropic strategies focused on family economic security
- Where philanthropy can intervene to prevent mass defaults and support pathways back to repayment and financial stability
No matter where asset building shows up in your portfolio, this conversation will clarify how student debt default intersects with your work—and where philanthropic action can make a meaningful difference.
SPEAKERS
Beadsie Woo, Moderator, Director, Family and Youth Financial Stability, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Sarah Sattelmeyer, Project Director, Education, Opportunity, and Mobility, New America
Kyra Taylor, Staff Attorney, National Consumer Law Center (NCLC)
