97% of Retirees Carry Debt Into Social Security. Here’s What They Owe

The image of retirement as a debt-free chapter has not matched reality for some time. According to a LendingTree analysis of about 40,000 anonymized credit reports, 97.1% of U.S. adults ages 66 to 71 still carry non-mortgage debt, with a median balance of $11,349 across the 50 largest metros. That figure excludes any mortgage still attached to the house, capturing only the credit card, auto, student, and personal loan debt that follows people across the line into Social Security eligibility.

The composition matters as much as the total. LendingTree found that 33.3% of retirement-age non-mortgage debt sits in auto loans, 31.7% in credit card balances, 15.6% in student loans, and 13.0% in personal loans. Credit cards are the most common product by a wide margin: 92.6% of retirement-age adults carry a card balance, while 36.8% have an auto loan and 8.0% are still paying on student debt, much of it originally borrowed for children or grandchildren.

The Average vs. the Median

The $11,349 figure is a median, meaning half of retirees in the sample owe more and half owe less. Averages tell a different story because a small number of high-balance households pull the number up sharply. Industry estimates compiled by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association place the average total debt for adults ages 65 to 74 at roughly $134,950 and for those 75 and older at $94,620, both figures including mortgages.

The gap between the median non-mortgage figure and the average total figure is largely attributable to housing. A retiree who refinanced in 2016 and still has 15 years left on the loan looks nothing like one who paid the house off in their fifties.

Why the Debt Sticks

The cost of carrying a balance is the part that has changed most dramatically. Federal Reserve G.19 data shows the average credit card APR across all accounts stood at 20.94% in Q2 2026, with the rate for accounts actually accruing interest rising to 22.15%. Rates have hovered near record territory for more than two years, and the picture could worsen: on September 16, 2026, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point, the first hike since July 2023, which will put additional upward pressure on variable-rate card APRs. Set against that, the 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is 2.8%. Fixed benefits indexed to a slower inflation gauge simply cannot keep up with revolving balances priced above 20%.

The math is stark. If 31.7% of a median $11,349 debt load sits on credit cards, that is roughly $3,600 in revolving debt at around 21% APR. The monthly interest on that balance alone runs approximately $63, which effectively consumes the entire COLA raise before a single grocery bill is paid. Americans’ total credit card balances reached $1.263 trillion as of Q2 2026, up from $1.242 trillion in the prior quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The savings cushion has also eroded. The personal savings rate fell from 5.2% in Q1 2025 to 3.7% in Q1 2026, then dropped further to 2.8% in Q2 2026, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data. Households are spending an ever-larger share of disposable income precisely as they approach the years when earned income drops away.

Who Is Falling Behind

The Federal Reserve’s credit card delinquency rate stood at 2.92% as of January 2026, down from 3.04% in April 2025. That sits within what economists call the normalizing band, well below the 6.8% peak during the 2009 financial crisis but still above the 1.5% pandemic low recorded in 2021. The delinquency figure does not capture the full strain, however. A March 2025 AARP survey covering nearly 5,000 adults ages 50 and older found that 47% of those carrying credit card balances are using their cards to cover basic living expenses they otherwise cannot afford, including groceries, utilities, and prescriptions.

Separately, industry research compiled in 2025 shows that 43% of retirees say debt has interfered with their retirement savings. Consumer confidence has followed suit. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 47.8 in the preliminary September 2026 reading, down from 51.7 in August and well below the April 2026 reading of 49.8. At 47.8, the index sits near its weakest levels since early spring 2026, reflecting household anxiety about inflation, fuel costs, and tightening credit conditions.

One overlooked option for those carrying high-rate card balances: simply asking for a lower rate. A June 2026 LendingTree survey found that 84% of cardholders who requested a lower APR received one, with an average reduction of 6.3 percentage points. Yet only 23% of cardholders had ever made such a request.

The Housing Piece

Mortgage debt has extended deeper into retirement over time. An Urban Institute analysis of the Survey of Consumer Finances shows that median outstanding mortgage debt among senior homeowners rose from $16,793 to $72,000 over recent decades, and the share of homeowners aged 65 to 79 carrying a mortgage rose by roughly 17 percentage points between 1989 and 2022. Rising home values have lifted equity at the same time, though even that story is getting more complicated. The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller National Home Price Index stood at 335.1 in May 2026, and for the 13th consecutive month U.S. home values declined in real terms, with June 2026 inflation running roughly two percentage points above the 1.5% nominal annual home price gain. Equity is higher in dollar terms, but so is the monthly mortgage payment carried into fixed-income years, and the inflation-adjusted value of that equity continues to erode.

For readers running the numbers on their own balances, the math on payoff time and interest cost is straightforward to model:

The data captures a structural problem, not a rounding error. Nearly all retirement-age Americans owe something when they begin drawing Social Security, and the median household carries about $11,349 outside of housing, financed at rates most current retirees never encountered during their working years. Whether that debt is manageable depends less on the balance itself than on the interest rate attached to it, the size of the monthly benefit check, and whether spending continues to outpace income at the pace BEA data now documents.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to reflect Q2 2026 Federal Reserve data showing the average credit card APR rose to 22.15% for accounts carrying a balance, the personal savings rate fell to 2.8% in Q2 2026, the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index stood at 335.1 in May 2026, and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index dropped to 47.8 in the preliminary September 2026 reading. The Federal Reserve’s September 16, 2026 rate increase, an AARP survey finding that 47% of older adults with card debt use cards for basic living expenses, and a LendingTree finding that 84% of cardholders who asked for a lower APR received one were also added.

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