Students aren’t the only family members suffering under the weight of college loans — many parents are caught up in being forced to pay their kids’ loans after guaranteeing payment.

While neither government, lenders or regulators track student-loan co-signing, experts say a growing number of parents are trapped by burgeoning loans. According to Federal Reserve Bank of New York cited by The New York Times, 2.2 million Americans aged 60 or older owed $43 billion in student loans by the end of the first quarter this year, almost triple the $15 billion owed in 2007, the year before the markets crashed.

The issues created by college debt have seriously impacted and strained many family relationships. Parents and their children are often uncomfortable discussing the debt and many parents feel guilt over not being able to fund their children’s entire education, which they considered a family obligation.

Editor's Note: Economist Warns: ‘Money From Heaven a Path to Hell.’ See Evidence.

Around 10 percent were more than 60 days and at least 90 days behind in payments during the first quarter of 2012, as opposed to 6 percent in 2005, The Times reported. In addition more parents and grandparents with unpaid federal student debt have lost part of their Social Security benefits, approximately 119,000 through September, compared with 60,000 for all of 2007 and 24,000 in 2001, according to the Treasury Department’s Financial Management Service.

This dilemma affects those coming up on retirement, causing some to delaying retirement and some to file for bankruptcy after using up scant assets to pay off loans, The Times reported.

Until recently financial institutions have not required co-signers on college loans, but that changed when the economy hit the skids in 2008. Over 90 percent of private loans had co-signers last year, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, up from 67 percent in 2008, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Overall, the U.S. student-loan debt surpassed the $1 trillion mark last year.

Editor's Note: Economist Warns: ‘Money From Heaven a Path to Hell.’ See Evidence.