According
to a February 12, 2016 report
by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, debt among older Americans more than
doubled between 2003 and 2015.
Specifically, the report states that Americans age 50 to 80 have seen a
59% increase in debt during this period.
According to the report, this increase is true for almost all types of
debts, including mortgages, home equity lines of credit, credit cards, and auto
loans.
While some
of this increase may be attributed to the aging of the population, the report
indicates that other factors are at play given the fact that since 2003 per
capita debt increased by 48% at age 65 but saw a 12% drop at age 30. The report attributes some of the changes in
the per capita debt to changes in lender and borrower behaviors, such as:
·
new
loan originators increasingly favoring older borrowers;
·
auto
and mortgage originators tilting away from younger borrowers;
·
the
direct correlation between credit risk score and age;
·
student
loan debt affecting younger borrowers’ ability or willingness to originate new loans; and
·
retirement-aged
consumers’ strong repayment history.
The report
indicates that even as the balance of their debt increases, retirement-aged
consumers’ continue to show strong repayment history.
Read the
full report here:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/greyingdebt.pdf
