Seniors Feeling Heavy Crush of Debt
Posted by | Posted in Credit Report | Posted on 10-01-2011
From 1991 to 2007, personal bankruptcy filings by senior citizens 65 and older increased 150%, while bankruptcy filings for seniors in the 75-to-84 age group climbed 433%, according to the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, a study co-authored by Elizabeth Warren, then a Harvard University law professor. According to an article by Tim Grant, reporting for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “many older Americans are drowning in a sea of bills they can’t handle and living in fear that things will get worse.” They are relying heavily on credit cards and other means of debt to pay their ongoing bills. Thomas J. Mackell, former chairman of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, states, “’We may be entering several generations of a depression era for future U.S. retirees. The problem is 50% of baby boomers are ill-prepared financially to retire. They just don’t have enough money and many of them are in debt.” Medical bills, limited retirement income and helping out relatives who are in even worse financial straits, are compelling ever-increasing numbers of seniors to turn to the bankruptcy courts for relief. Fifty-two percent of retirees surveyed replied that Social Security was their single most important source of retirement income. Theodore Connolly, a bankruptcy attorney in Boston and co-author of The Road Out of Debt: Bankruptcy and Other Solutions to Your Financial Problems, avers that the current recession is especially tough for baby boomers aged 45 to 64. “With the job environment the way it is and the problems people age 50 and over are having finding employment, the continuation of their problems could increase dramatically if the economy doesn’t turn around,” he said. Their homes, a major asset many had expected to rely on in retirement, are decreasing in value. Stock market investments may not be growing at expected rates and whatever retirement income they were counting on from bank CDs and government bonds has been greatly reduced. If you are experiencing a severe financial crisis due to insurmountable medical bills, please call an experienced and caring bankruptcy lawyer at Legal Helpers to see if filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy can help you out of serious debt. Call us toll-free at 800-260-1402 today for answers. We CAN help. Contact us at www.legalhelpers.com.
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