Older people owe more and take longer to pay their debts off, new figures from a debt management company show.
Many people aged over 50 will not have a comfortable retirement - because of their large debts.
Payplan said today that the average 50 to 60-year-old in the UK who has taken out a debt management plan owes £41,000 through high-interest unsecured borrowing, such as credit cards and loans. Shockingly, the average debt across all other age groups averages £32,700.
The debt management group said that a total of 14 percent of the plans it processed went to 50 to 60-year-olds. Its new figures also show that the amount of time it takes older debtors to pay off their creditors is getting longer and longer when compared with younger people - with the gap growing by 27 percent over the last year alone.
Commenting on the report, managing director of Payplan John Fairhurst said: "Most people imagine that as they reach the countdown to finishing work they will have paid off their mortgage and be busily saving for a comfortable retirement.
"These figures show that this is simply not the case for many pre-retirees, and highlights a hugely concerning trend towards indebtedness in later life."
On average, the firm said that older people take 11 years to pay off their debts through a debt management plan. Younger debtors take nine years.
