Retirees Don't Plan On Paying Off Credit Card Bills

Retirement is supposed to be a time when people kick up their feet, relax, and enjoy life, but for many retirees, the list of bills is growing longer than their bucket list.

According to a recent poll, 39 percent of retired Americans have credit card debts that they do not expect to pay off at all in their lifetimes. The most frequently made charges for retirees were medicine, gasoline, and travel expenses. They figure that if their debt cannot be inherited by their children, then it won’t hurt to rack up debts and never pay them.

While technically debts cannot be inherited by relatives, there are a few loopholes. First, if a person gives away their house, money, or other possessions shortly before their death, those possessions can be recalled by creditors and sold to pay off debts of the deceased. Secondly, if the deceased had a joint bank account or joint credit card, then the person sharing their joint account is liable for the debt left over. Thirdly, a relative can be held responsible for taking care of the debt if they paid bills for the deceased. For example, sometimes a relative will write checks out of their own account when the retiree is physically or mentally unable to manage their bills. This practice can actually put the relative at risk of getting hit with debts of the deceased.

One way a person can help an elderly relative without the worry of being held liable for debts is to write the checks to the person directly, deposit the money into their account, and then write checks out of that account. Other ways of protecting themselves include staying away from joint bank or credit card accounts so that creditors cannot collect from other people on the account.

To learn more about smart saving, budgeting, and maintaining good credit, go to http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com/, and sign up for a free credit evaluation at http://www.mycreditspecialist.com/.