"The US Department of Education is holding more than 900,000 student loans that are at least 30 years old. Tens of thousands of these loans originated almost a half-century ago. And it's likely that most of the total balances are the result of interest charges that have accumulated over the decades--from people who can't ever pay back their loans."
https://www.highereducationinquirer.org/2023/09/old-student-loans-and-lifetime-of-debt.html