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Key Takeaways
- Almost 7 in 10 baby boomers carried debt in 2022, with younger boomers more likely to owe.
- Mortgages are where this generation owes the most, with a median debt of $116,000 on their primary residence.
- Retiring with debt increases financial risks, as income options are limited while expenses can unexpectedly rise.
When baby boomers come up in discussions about money, the focus is usually on their wealth and the economic tailwinds that helped them build it. But there’s another side that gets less attention: Many have retired, or are entering retirement, carrying significantly more debt than earlier generations.
While retiring with debt used to be considered reckless, it’s now become increasingly common.
But that debt can look different from household to household, and mortgages, credit cards, and other balances can make retirement budgeting more complicated once regular paychecks stop.
Why This Matters
Carrying debt into retirement isn’t automatically dangerous, but it can reduce how far your savings stretch when medical costs and other expenses crop up. Knowing what baby boomers typically owe can help you put your own debt in context before retirement expenses pile up.
How Much Debt Baby Boomers Are Carrying
About 69% of boomers carried some form of debt in 2022, the latest year covered by the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). The share was even higher among younger boomers: 75% of Americans ages 58 to 66 carried debt, compared with 62% of those ages 67 to 76.
How much they owe varies widely by household. The Fed reports two figures for the generation as a whole: the median, which shows the middle point across households, and the mean, or average, which can be pulled higher by very large balances.
| How Much Total Debt Baby Boomer Households Carry | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| | All Boomers (born 1946–1964) | Older Boomers (born 1946–1955) | Younger Boomers (born 1956–1964) |
| Percent with debt | 69% | 62% | 75% |
| Median | $62,450 | $43,000 | $73,610 |
| Mean | $147,122 | $132,314 | $158,625 |
The gap between those figures is significant. Baby boomers’ median household debt was $62,450 in 2022, while the mean was much higher, at $147,122.
The median is usually the better gauge of a typical household because it’s less skewed by unusually high debt levels. But even the lower median figure can be enough to strain a retiree’s finances, especially when it has to compete with housing, healthcare, and rising everyday costs.
Those debt levels are also much higher than they used to be. Median debt in households headed by people ages 65 to 74 more than quadrupled between 1992 and 2022, according to the SCF. Among households headed by people ages 75 and older, it increased more than sevenfold.
The Debts That Can Follow Baby Boomers Into Retirement
Housing debt is the biggest balance baby boomers carry, mostly through mortgages but also through loans against home equity. In 2022, 38% of this generation had debt secured by their primary residence, with a median balance of $116,000.
Credit card debt is about as common as mortgage debt among baby boomers. In 2022, 38% had credit card balances, with a median balance of $3,000. That might not sound alarming, but it can grow quickly when interest rates often exceed 20%.
Vehicle loans and education loans are also common pressure points. Education debt carries the largest median balance outside of housing, which may reflect Parent PLUS loans or graduate borrowing that was never fully paid down.
Why Debt Hits Differently in Retirement
The problem with debt in retirement is that it raises expenses at a time when options to boost income are more limited.
During your working years, a raise, bonus, overtime, or side hustle can help absorb extra costs. In retirement, those levers are harder to pull, even as new expenses can emerge.
Unexpected costs like home repairs, car maintenance, and medical bills can all strain a retirement budget, especially when debt payments are already taking up monthly cash flow.
That’s one reason financial planners often advise keeping fixed expenses to a minimum in retirement. The money you saved has to last as long as you live, and debt payments you can’t easily cut are working against that goal.
What Boomers Can Do if Debt Is Weighing on Retirement
Carrying debt into retirement can become a problem if it isn’t carefully managed. These strategies can help keep balances from squeezing your budget:
- Eliminate high-interest debt: Credit card balances are typically the most expensive debt to carry and the most likely to derail your finances. So it makes sense to pay them down first—even if that means cutting back on discretionary spending for a while.
- Consider delaying Social Security. For every year you delay claiming past your full retirement age (66 to 67 for baby boomers, depending on your birth year), you’ll increase your benefit by roughly 8%, up to age 70. Continuing to work can also give you more time to save while reducing the number of years your savings need to last.
- Talk to a professional. A fee-only financial advisor or a nonprofit credit counselor can help you develop a personalized and manageable debt-reduction strategy.
Debt in retirement doesn’t have to define your finances, but it does need a plan—especially when every monthly payment affects how long your savings can last.
Read the original article on Investopedia
