Debt and Elders: GAO Report

This GAO report is a couple of months old, but I think it's important enough to bring it to your attention,  Retirement Security: Debt Increased for Older Americans over Time, but the Implications Vary by Debt Type.

Here are the fast facts from the report:

Older Americans held nearly half of the total debt in 2020—debt that may affect their retirement security. We found that older Americans had significantly more debt in 2016 than in 1989.

We also found that low-income, older Americans had greater "debt stress"—the ratio of debts to assets. In 2016, debt stress was about two times higher for minority households than White households.

Experts said that different debt types (credit cards, housing debt, etc.) have varying effects on retirement security. For example, carrying credit card debt with high variable interest rates may make it difficult for the elderly to save for retirement.

The full report is available here, the highlights here.