More people with student loan debt received assistance with their student loan interest payments in 2024 than in previous years, said the national social insurance institution-Kela in a press release on Monday.
The number of recipients of assistance began to increase substantially in 2023 as a result of rising interest rates and higher debt loads.
The trend continued in 2024, with the number of assistance recipients climbing to over 16,000. The number of recipients doubled from 2023.
“This is more than twice the number in 2023”, said Ilpo Lahtinen, a Special Coordinator in Kela’s Student Financial Aid Section.
“You have to go back to the economic depression of the 1990s to find a similar number…
