Debt levels soar for older people

Debt levels soar for older people

	Published : Fri, 23 Jun 2006 13:55 By : Andrew Stead Print this Story

LONDON - The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), a leading debt charity said that the level of debt among people over the age or 60 was hitting alarming levels. Retired people or those approaching retirement were bring forced to deal with a huge mountain of debt, the report added.

The average amount owed by over-60 people reached £33,568, an increase of 25 percent over last year. It is not only the seniors, but also the younger lot aged 18 to 24 who are suffering. The average sum owed by this group increased 26 percent over the last two years from £11,934 in 2003 to £15,079 in 2005.

"The aim of this yearbook is to make use of the knowledge and experience of CCCS in improving our understanding of people in debt, alleviating their problems and anticipating future needs," group chairman Malcolm Hurlston said.

But the highest debt was still registered by people aged between 40 and 59 who had an outstanding debt of an average of £34,456. These figures are based on data from 280,000 clients of the charity, around 2 million phone calls and 1 million outstanding debts totaling £1.5bn. The foundation hoped that the figures would help make it easier to understand the debt market.

The reasons for the soaring debt levels are many, but Stuart Glendinning, managing director of comparison website Moneysupermarket, feels that the main reason is the ease with which people are able to get credit. "For homeowners, this can be a sensible course of action, but only if they don't put themselves into a debt cycle," he said. "It is undoubtedly the case that many individuals are chasing their tails running up unsecured debts, periodically consolidating with a secured loan and then running up further debts again, repeating the pattern."

Reacting to these figures, Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman said that they were a "double whammy." He added, "These figures are yet more evidence that personal debt problems are becoming a dominating issue in economic and social policy."