In today's financial climate no sector is immune from the possibility of falling into unplanned debt. Recent investigation has shown that the latest sector of society to be affected is the pensioner sector.
The amount of debt held by pensioners is increasing, and around 20% of pensioners have credit card debt. The average debt held on cards is just over £9,000 for pensioners in the sixty five to sixty nine age bracket, and around £8,700 for those over seventy. These debts are not the result of reckless spending either. They are the result of just coping with bills and debt levels in this sector are growing faster than any other. This phenomenon is now referred to as grey debt.
These escalating levels of debt have been exacerbated by the steep decline in the values of pension savings. Pensions have suffered enormously over the last two years as falls in the stock market have written off £billions of pounds of savings held in equities. In addition, pensioners with cash invested in banks and building societies have also suffered as interest rates have been reduced to derisory levels.
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has been monitoring grey debt and reports that every day an additional 350 grey debtors contact the organisation to seek help and advice on debt management. Many of these people have additional debts as well as credit card problems. Often they still have mortgages which they have not been able to pay off before retirement. Just as worrying is the fact that many people who are approaching retirement are also having problems coping with debt; every day around 700 people from the fifty five to sixty five age group also contact CAB seeking help with unmanageable debt and there is a serious possibility that many will carry these debts through to retirement.
The CAB advises anybody who finds themselves in this kind of situation, particularly pensioners and those coming up to retirement, should contact a debt advisor without delay. Debts do not disappear by themselves and it is essential that a suitable, affordable
debt management plan to repay the debt is put in place.
--
For more information on how you can get
debt free, visit the experts at
www.debt-free.org.uk today!
