Pensioners are falling into debt as they need to use credit cards for day-to-day outgoings, new research reveals.
Around a fifth of the UK's pensioners currently have outstanding credit card debts, according to new data from Key Retirement Solutions.
The average outstanding credit card balance for this group stands at £8,892 per person, the research shows. Many pensioners have to rely on their credit cards for simple everyday purchases because they are struggling financially, the study suggested.
Charity Credit Action warned that the number of pensioners who rely mostly on the state pension is growing. These indebted pensioners will struggle to deal with minimum repayments on their credit card bills if the pension is their sole source of income, the charity warned.
"Debt is a worry for people of all ages in the recession but it is particularly troubling for us to see a marked increase in the problems older people face," said Credit Action director Chris Tapp.
Key Retirement Solutions also discovered that a third of pensioners retire while still having mortgage debt, with the average amount left to pay standing at £43,000. Additionally, Citizens Advice has seen a sizeable growth in the number of people who have come to it for debt advice.
Five percent of the 7,000 new cases the organisation sees each day are for people aged over 65, while ten percent are for those between 55 and 64 years old.
