At a Glance | February 4, 2021 Debt Is on the Rise for Families With the Oldest Heads SHARE WITH DEBT Percentage of Families With Debt Families With Heads Ages 55 or Older Although households with 82% heads ages 55–64 are the most 79% 78% 76% Age Group 76% 76% 77% 77% 74% likely to have debt, those with 71% 70% 70% 66% 65% 65% heads 75 or older experienced 55–64 58% 57% 54% the steepest increase in debt 52% 51% 51% 50% prevalence since 2007. 65–74 41% 40% 38% 32% 31% 29% 28% 75+ 25% 71+74+76+76+76+82+78+79+77+7751+54+52+57+58+65+65+66+70+7032+28+25+29+40+31+38+41+50+51 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 DEBTS / ASSETS Median Total Debt-to-Asset Ratio Families with heads 65 or older Age Group experienced a significantly 55–64 15.6% 17.6% 14.9% 18.8% 22.8% 23.0% 20.9% greater increase in their debt-to- asset ratios than families with 65–74 5.3% 8.8% 9.3% 14.9% 15.9% 14.8% 13.3% heads ages 55–64 since 1992. 75+ 5.2% 5.5% 4.7% 8.3% 14.6% 9.6% 12.1% 1992 1998 2001 2007 2010 2016 2019 CREDIT CARD DEBT Credit Card Debt in Older Households The proportion of households Share of Households With Credit Card Debt with heads ages 75 or older 50% 47% 46% having credit card debt reached 42% 42% 41% Age Group 37% 37% its highest level since 1992 in 30% 32% 29% 41% 41% 55–64 2019. The median amount of 32% 65–74 28% this debt also reached its peak 26% 22% 75+ 20% 19% 18% in 2019. 11% 37+46+42+50+41+41+4720+11+18+19+22+26+2832+29+30+37+32+42+41 1992 1998 2001 2007 2010 2016 2019 Median Credit Card Debt for Ages 75+ $2.7k $2.2k $2.1k $1.2k $1.1k $1k $0.9k Age Group 75+ 1992 1998 2001 2007 2010 2016 2019 SOURCE: Craig Copeland, “Who Is Most Vulnerable to the Ticking Debt Time Bomb in Retirement: Families With the Oldest, Black/African American, and Hispanic Family Heads,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 521 (December 17, 2020). © 2021 EBRI This report is copyrighted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). You may copy, print, or download this report solely for personal and noncommercial use, provided that all hard copies retain any and all copyright and other applicable notices contained therein, and you may cite or quote small portions of the report provided that you do so verbatim and with proper citation. Any use beyond the scope of the foregoing requires EBRI’s prior express permission. For permissions, please contact EBRI at permissions@ebri.org.