Older workers facing indebted retirement

Older workers forced into retirement are facing serious debt problems, research suggests.

The recent failure of the High Court appeal against the mandatory retirement age, coupled with a drop in interest rates and eroded house equity, means many are facing an impoverished old age according to debt management specialists, EuroDebt.

Analysis of the company's current client base shows that of those over 60, almost 1 in 3 still have a mortgage and the average unsecured debt for these homeowners is just under £40,000.

Kevin Still, director at EuroDebt, says "The figures for debt in the over 60s has gone up quite considerably since the recession took hold...at the beginning of 2008...our over 60s clients had an average unsecured debt of just under £26,000 with an average of 8 creditors. This has now gone up to an average unsecured debt of just over £28,000".

"But what is also worrying is that we now have a higher proportion of over 60s clients that have a mortgage - just over 32% compared to 21.5% at the beginning of last year," Still adds.