Jon Coffin lives in Bridgeport and says the same date every month acts as a reminder he owes over $160,000 in student loans.
“It's the 19th of every month. It really weighs on me, and every other financial decision that I make, I make with my loan payments in mind,” Coffin said.
When Coffin graduated in 2023 from Antioch University in New Hampshire, he assumed he could go on a repayment plan that started under former President Joe Biden.
“I took on the debt assuming that I could get on it when I needed to,” Coffin said.
But federal changes to student loan payment options upended his plans.
Coffin says he has a well paying job as a teacher, but says his mortgage and caring for his children, one of which has special needs, with his wife, has led to his loans looming over his head over nearly every financial transaction.
"Every time I buy a new pair of shoes, that monthly payment is in the back of my mind. Every time I buy something for my kids, that's always in my mind,” Coffin said.
While Coffin is still current on his payments, and said he’s confident he can continue to keep the momentum, he expressed anxiety over how his loans impact his life.
Coffin’s sentiments come as defaults on student loans have spiked across the country, including in Connecticut since last year, according to a recent report by the Associated Press (AP).
The AP reports that since Sept. of 2025, 44,000 additional Connecticut residents have defaulted on their loans. Currently 91,000 are in default.
Connecticut Student Loan Ombudsperson, Michelle Jarvis-Lettman, say she's not surprised.
“The default rate I think will continue to increase, unfortunately, as these repayment options are going to be unaffordable for a lot of borrowers, so I think we're going to see another uptick in that, ” Jarvis-Lettman said.
Jarvis-Lettman has been the ombudsperson since 2024 when the office was created by the state legislature. She said over the years more people have reached out to her with questions on how to navigate federal changes to student loan payments.
The Trump administration did away with Biden-era loan repayment plans including the SAVE Plan.
When Jarvis-Lettman first started, she would hear from people in the central part of the state, where her office is located.
Now, she’s hearing from people in some of the most affluent parts of the state.
“Now I think we're seeing a lot more people down in the southern part of the state in Fairfield County,” Jarvis-Lettman said.
The state legislature has worked to help residents struggling with student loans, or interested in pursuing higher education in recent years.
A state fund reimburses student loan payments, although income restrictions apply, and the state has also worked to help residents who wish to enter the health care sector, additional financial aid.
State Rep. Kaitlyn Shake, who represents Stratford, and is a registered nurse, says it acts as a lifeline, even as she’s heard of other nurses struggling to keep up with payments.
‘The relief that people were expressing to say, "Oh my gosh, I can still thank you so much. I'm not going to land in a situation where they're forced to go to the predatory private student loans,” Shake said.
