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It is easy to think that baby boomers – people born from 1946 to1964 during the post–World War II baby boom already have good investments and are now without debts having paid them off long ago.
Well, Experian’s 2020 State of Credit report paints a different picture. The report shows that Baby boomers have become the generation with the fastest growing debt load.
Unlike millennials – children of the baby boomers who are still working, covering child-care expenses and buying homes at higher rates, most of the baby boomers, including 28 million of them in the U.S who retired this year are still deep in debt.
Ideal it may sound, not everyone retires debt-free. Recent data from the Federal Reserve shows that older consumers are carrying debt well into retirement, including mortgages, car loans, personal loans and even credit card balances. The volatility of the stock market has not helped matters either. No thanks to the pandemic.
CNBC’s analysis of Experian’s 2020 State of Credit report shows that Boomers, also called the generation, carry an average credit card balance of $6,747 and $25,812 in total nonmortgage debt (including credit cards, store cards, personal loans and other nonmortgage accounts). They have a 3.2% delinquency rate for accounts 90 to 180 days past due.
Boomer homeowners carry an average mortgage debt of $191,650.
Here’s a full break down of Experian’s 2020 findings by generation:
2020 State of Credit Findings
| 2020 findings by generation | Gen Z (ages 24 and younger) | Millennials / Gen Y (ages 25 to 40) | Gen X (ages 41 to 56) | Boomers (ages 57 to 74) | Silent (ages 75 and above) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average VantageScore® | 654 | 658 | 676 | 716 | 729 |
| Average number of credit cards | 1.64 | 2.66 | 3.3 | 3.45 | 2.78 |
| Average credit card balance | $2197 | $4651 | $7718 | $6747 | $3988 |
| Average revolving utilization rate | 30% | 30% | 32% | 24% | 13% |
| Average number of retail credit cards | 1.64 | 2.1 | 2.59 | 2.63 | 2.21 |
| Average retail credit card balance | $1124 | $1871 | $2353 | $2100 | $1558 |
| Average non-mortgage debt | $10942 | $27251 | $32878 | $25812 | $12869 |
| Average mortgage debt | $172561 | $232372 | $245127 | $191650 | $159517 |
| Average 30–59 days past due delinquency rates | 1.60% | 2.70% | 3.30% | 2.20% | 1.20% |
| Average 60–89 days past due delinquency rates | 1.00% | 1.50% | 1.80% | 1.20% | 0.70% |
| Average 90–180 days past due delinquency rates Source: CNBC | 2.50% | 4.40% | 5.30% | 3.20% | 1.90% |
