Aging and finances

Total debt for Americans in their 60s saw debt significantly increase in that time, rising 471%, the report shows. Mortgages are accounting for the greatest share of debt among those at retirement age  in their 60s, followed by auto loans, credit cards, and home equity lines of credit, according to the report.

Also, Americans are financing retirement over the age of 70, debt has jumped 543% over the last two decades. Mortgages are a big part of that debt, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The percentage of households headed by a person over 75 who has debt payments that are more than 40% of their income rose by more than 23% from 2007 to 2016. Longer lifespans may be one culprit that has stretched savings thinner. Also, medical costs have risen and student loan debt for 65-year-olds jumped 886% between 2003 to 2015, the report notes.

But financial analysts say that having debt in retirement isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The key is whether there is still cash flow in assessing whether retiring with debt will be OK, he adds.

Other age groups have also seen debt increases over that period, but they haven’t been as pronounced as that seen by seniors. There is a rising concern that a rising number of the nation’s seniors are at risk of running short on money in retirement from their heavier debt loads.

A higher number of older Americans are filing for bankruptcy, too. One in seven bankruptcy filers is over the age of 65, according to a recent study.