Britons reduce levels of debt being taken into retirement
PEOPLE are cutting down the level of debt they take into their retirements, data from Prudential showed yesterday – yet nearly one in five still have debts when they leave the workplace.
One in five men enter retirement with debt, the firm’s research showed, compared to 16 per cent of women.
The amounts owed by these indebted retirees is falling, it added.
The average owed by men with debts fell from £45,300 a year ago to £33,800 in this survey, while for women with debts it fell from £29,400 to £28,100.
Average monthly debt repayments for this demographic thus fell to £215, from £257.
“The fall in average debt owed by this year’s retirees is a welcome sign that people are paying off some of the money they owe before they stop working,” said Vince Smith-Hughes, Prudential’s retirement income expert.
The region with the highest proportion of people entering retirement with debt is Wales, with 26 per cent. In London and the south east exactly one fifth of people enter retirement with debt.