The amount owed by over 60s seeking debt advice grew at rate of 25 percent over the last year according to a new report from the Foundation of Credit Counselling.
The average debt among clients of the charity the Consumer Credit Counselling Service aged over 60 rose to £33,658 in 2005 from £26,965 the year before.
The Foundation of Credit Counselling's report, released yesterday, surveyed data derived from 280,000 clients over the last three years. The findings give a snapshot of £1.5 billion of unsecured debt, 0.78 percent of the UK total.
Help the Aged spokesman Paul Bates is quick to play down concerns: “The difficulty is that this report only surveys those who seek help from the CCCS. National surveys generally show the level of debt among the over 60s is fairly low."
Despite this the charity, which tackles problems of poverty, isolation and neglect among older people, say they have noticed an increase in the debt among the age group.
Martin Broad, manager of Bournemouth Citizens Advice Bureau thinks the problem is increasing: "The older people get, of course their money is not lasting as long and they're facing debts."
Chairman of the Foundation of Credit Counselling, Malcom Hurlston, described the purpose of the report as to "make use of the knowledge and experience of CCCS in improving our understanding of people in debt, alleviating their problems and anticipating future needs."
The findings also revealed that the proportion of clients owing "extreme debt", over £100,000, has nearly doubled in the last year to 2.7% from 1.4%.
The charity, which provides advice on personal budgeting and the use of credit, as well as managing repayment plans, saw their clients average debt rise by 5% to £30,763 over 2005.
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Consumer Credit Counselling Service
Age charity plays down fears after report shows debt increase for the over 60s
