Retirees and Those Close to Retirement Piling Up the Red Ink

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), retirees and those close to retirement are finding themselves with rising levels of debt. The EBRI’s study found that the average debt for someone 55 and older had shot up almost 120% since 1992 to $70,370. Credit cards were a contributor to this increase. However, housing refinancing was the biggest culprit! This is the result of Americans who bought during the housing boom and then turned their homes into ATM machines as market prices seemed as though they’d go up forever. So now our generation faces one more obstacle for retirement security. If your debt is continuing to mount and you’re serious about retiring within the next 5-10 years, you better start getting your act together, Boomer. Put together a budget. Cut out everything you possibly can and become a debt hater. Put as much as you can into your 401(k) plan, your IRA and your Roth IRA. And save, save, save because you’re going to need every nickel of it. Best wishes, George