According to Bob Herbert, columnist at the New York Times, older Americans are taking a particularly wicked hit in the latest financial crisis.
Analysts at AARP have found that “Americans age 50 and over represent about 28 percent of all delinquencies and foreclosures in the current crisis.” Losing a home to foreclosure is a disaster for anyone. It’s a catastrophe for older people.
The AARP Public Policy Institute, in a recent report, poignantly explained: “For Americans age 50 and over, losing a house represents a loss from which there is limited time to recover, and for some, a recovery may be impossible given their age and limited incomes.”
According to an article published Oct 23, 2008 in Time Magazine entitled "Living in a World with Less Credit," total household debt at the end of last year was up 20% since 2005. At the same time, the household savings rate ticked down close to zero.
Calls to debt-counseling services have skyrocketed. Callers are close to the max on their credit cards, and they just can't figure out how to manage. At the same time, credit-card companies are decreasing lines of credit, and the consumers don't have any room left.
Many Americans are going to have to cut back drastically on their lifestyles and those nearing retirement will have to rethink their plans to stop working.
According to Kathleen Day, a Washington Post staff writer, people in the over 55 age range are now the fastest growing group in new bankruptcies according to a study published in 2007. This is not good news. The longer you delay in taking steps to prepare for your retirement the more likely it will end in a financial disaster.
