Moneysupermarket.com has reported that whilst more people are paying off their non-mortgage debt than increasing it, more than half of the UK’s 50+ population is still carrying an average of £6,734 non-mortgage debt.
Research conducted on behalf of the price comparison site found that more than 22% of over 50s have taken on more debt, with 5% increasing debt ‘a lot’ over the past 12 months. Of those who are still carrying debt, 15% believe debt will always be a part of their life, and they expect to live life in the red. 48% of those whose debt has increased in the past year said they had gone further into the red in order to keep paying the bills.
However, nearly half (48%) of Britons aged over 50 have reduced their outstanding borrowings, with 21% claiming to be ‘in a lot less debt now compared to one year ago’.
Tim Moss, head of loans and debt at moneysupermarket.com, said: “At a time when people should definitely be decreasing rather than increasing their borrowings