The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued this snapshot report on older Americans' mortgage debt. The agency's introduction provides a nice overview:
Rising mortgage debt is threatening the retirement security of millions of older Americans. In general, older consumers are carrying more debt, including mortgage, credit card, and even student loan debt, into their retirement years than in previous decades. Mortgage debt, the largest debt that older consumers carry, is the key driver of this trend. Today, compared to a decade ago, fewer older homeowners own their home outright. For many of the roughly 4.4 million retired homeowners with mortgage debt, making monthly mortgage payments on top of paying other monthly expenses can be a hardship.
