A new study has shown that 24 per cent of people coming up to retirement age are in debt. The study was disclosed by Just Retirement, the retirement solutions provider.

Pensioners now have lower disposable incomes, due in part to the cost of essential services rising. Gas and electricity have risen in excess of 40% this year. Many are concerned about living on the breadline, with 46% worried about their declining buying power. In addition, one in eight plan to continue working past retirement age to top up their income.

Nigel Barlow of Just Retirement said, “With unemployment figures estimated to reach two million by December, it is possible that pensioners will find it harder than ever to find work. The likelihood is that poverty among pensioners is set to spiral out of control”.

Over 55s are often using credit cards, loans and overdrafts to pay bills, and the average credit card debt for the age goup is over £8000 (according to a sperate study from Key Retirement Solutions).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 1:12 am and is filed under General Debt News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.