Bankruptcy Increasing In Senior Population

For a second year in a row, many seniors will have to endure revisions to their fixed budgets as the cost of living increase adjustment to their monthly social security checks will not happen. The federal government has determined that the social security provisions will remain fixed this year. Budgets will just have to tighten for many American's across the nation as our economy recovers and as a consequence of this bankruptcies filings in the senior population are on the increase. In fact, seniors are the fastest growing segment of people filing for bankruptcy in the United States.

More and more Americans are having to rely on alternative methods to pay the bills like using credit cards and building more debt than they can actually afford to pay back on a monthly basis. Many Americans that are of retirement age are not prepared financially to enter into retirement, but with unemployment at a high level in our nation right now, some have no other choice. Bills begin to add up and the increasing debt is leading many to file for bankruptcy. Over the past two decades, bankruptcy filings for individuals that are 65 years of age or older increased by greater than one hundred percent and for older individuals (75-84), bankruptcy filings increased by a whopping 433%. For many retired Americans, Social Security Income is their most important source of income and often their sole source of income, so this can make managing finances difficult and thus making this group more prone to needing to file bankruptcy.

You don't have to go without the food or medicines you need. There are other alternatives such as filing bankruptcy. It's important that you get the right advice from an experienced bankruptcy attorney, so that you can make an informed decision and find out if filing for bankruptcy is the right choice for you. No matter what your age, declaring bankruptcy may seem like the end of the world. But for many people, filing for bankruptcy gets the creditors off your phone and puts you back in control of your financial life. Should you want to discuss this matter further, I offer a free 30-minute phone consultation, and we can discuss your individual questions about Bankruptcy.