Can seniors qualify for credit card debt forgiveness?
If you're coping with high-interest credit card debt and struggling to find ways to pay it down, it could be worth evaluating your debt relief options. But if you're a senior or older adult reliant upon a limited monthly budget, especially in today's unpredictable economic climate, exploring debt relief options becomes more urgent. Thanks to a combination of persistent inflation, higher interest rates on pause and volatile stock market performance that could be hurting your retirement savings, there's likely not much left over each month to pay down your credit cards.
And that's a major problem to have now. With the average credit card debt of around $8,000 per cardholder and the median interest rate on credit cards near a record 23%, this debt can quickly compound from a manageable amount to an insurmountable one, seemingly overnight.
Fortunately, there are multiple debt relief options available that can help reduce the interest seniors are paying on their debt and, in some cases, drastically reduce what's owed. Credit card debt forgiveness, which can cut the outstanding debt amount by 30% to 50%, is one such option worth investigating now. But some qualifications will need to be met to be considered for this help. So, can seniors qualify for credit card debt forgiveness or do they need to explore alternatives? That's what we'll answer below.
Check your credit card debt forgiveness eligibility here.
Can seniors qualify for credit card debt forgiveness?
While there are financial products that only seniors can qualify for (like reverse mortgages), credit card debt forgiveness eligibility criteria is not age-specific. So, yes, seniors can qualify for credit card debt forgiveness. This service, also known as debt settlement, does have qualifications that will need to be met but they aren't specific to the age of the applicant. Instead, to qualify for credit card debt forgiveness, cardholders will typically need to:
- Have a minimum of $5,000 to $10,000 worth of credit card debt (higher amounts are typically easier to qualify for)
- Have a financial hardship preventing them from making payments as agreed upon (and clear documentation demonstrating this hardship)
- Be behind on payments (this shows an existing inability to pay versus assuming that you may be unable to make payments in the future)
So, if you're a senior who meets these qualifications, then you'll likely be able to find a debt relief servicer who can work with you to get a portion of your existing debt forgiven. That said, this option takes time to go into effect (two to four years, on average). That will need to be accounted for, as well. If you want to expedite the process, you may be better served by pursuing forgiveness in conjunction with other debt relief options or by combining your debt forgiveness program with some reliable, DIY strategies.
See what debt relief options are available to you now.
Does credit card debt forgiveness hurt your credit score?
Another item to keep in mind regarding credit card debt forgiveness is the impact it could have on your credit score. How much of an impact it has on your score, however, will vary. If you're already significantly behind on your card payments, your score is already likely damaged so an additional impact here will be muted.
If you have a score on the higher end, however, and enter the program and stop making card payments, the result is likely to be more substantial. The circumstances will differ depending on your credit profile, current score and debt situation, so consider speaking to your debt relief servicer to get the specifics before getting started.
The bottom line
Seniors can qualify for credit card debt forgiveness as their age is not a determining factor. However, they should be cognizant of the timeline and potential damage to their credit score when pursuing this option and should only do so after having reviewed all other debt relief options, some of which could be more applicable to their individual situation. By taking the time now to consider all potential recourses, seniors can better determine their next step toward regaining their financial freedom.
