Many seniors today are looking for ways to manage their current debt; a large percentage of that debt is represented by car loans.
The TransAmerica study indicated that:
■ About 10% of seniors have debt in excess of $100,000, not including home mortgages
■ 40% of retirees indicate that paying off debt is a fiscal priority
■ 30% view credit card debt as a priority
■ 17% view mortgage debt as a priority
■ 11% view another consumer form of debt including medical bills or student loans as a priority
■ 41% say they don’t know when they’ll pay off their debt
In another survey conducted by Creditcards.com, it revealed that 25% of adults expect to die with debt. This is actually an improvement from 30%, which was reported in 2017.
These are the financial priorities among retirees:
■ 39% consider cost of living expense a priority
■ 34% paying healthcare expenses
■ 29% paying off credit card debt
■ 25% building a rainy day fund
■ 20% continuing to save for retirement
■ 17% paying off the mortgage
Still many financial advisors see other problems with this approach to financial planning. They see the lack of long-term care planning as a possible problem that is not being appropriately dealt with.
Of those who were involved with the TransAmerica survey, retirees still with mortgages owed $52,000 in mortgage and 4,000, in non-mortgage debt.