Seniors and working adults on the cusp of entering retirement are in a fiscal crisis.
According to a report from the bankruptcy trustee firm Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc., Ontario seniors account for nearly one-third (3o percent) of bankruptcies in the province. The report stated that reviews of 6,000 insolvency filings done by the firm in 2013 and 2014, the share of debtors over 50 rose from 27 percent to 30 percent.
Although credit card debt represents a great portion of the bankruptcies, payday loans are gradually become a larger nuisance for older people.
“Unfortunately if you go into retirement with debt, you’ve got a huge problem because now your income has gone down and you can’t service it,” said Doug Hoyes, co-founder of the bankruptcy trustee firm, in an interview with The Canadian Press. “The basic trends are the same. The population is aging. We know that debt levels are increasing across the country. It is probably pretty comparable across the country as well.”
He added that with higher interest rates, there could very well be a crisis for indebted seniors. “I don’t think we are prepared should that happen. We’ve been numbed to it because interest rates have continued to fall for years and years.”
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