Could your age affect how you pay your credit card bill?

March 27, 2007

New studies show that your age could play a part in how soon you pay your monthly credit card balance. Surprisingly the results show that people in their 30’s are more likely to miss a payment than any other age group. Usually when you think of non payments you may think of the younger generation such as students, as they tend to have the least amount of money. However it is the over 30’s who mainly miss at least one monthly payment.

The study was conducted in Singapore and it is thought that the reason behind this age difference is because salaries are now becoming higher for younger people, enabling them to get credit cards earlier. So are these studies relevant to the rest of the world?

Well generally it is mainly that age group which dominates the credit card industry, though the elderly are fast catching up. Failing pension schemes in the UK and the US are forcing many old age pensioners to apply for a credit card. The only way that they can survive is through their cards as the money that they get simply is not enough. However this could change soon in the UK as new measures have been introduced to give the elderly more money and as well as grants for insulation.

So it looks like people in their late thirties are still going to be dominating the credit card industry and missed payments are likely to continue. As utility bills are higher and the cost of living is ever increasing, if the minimum salary rate does not increase then people are going to be less likely to be able to afford their monthly repayments and missed payments will continue.

Overall people who are aged in their late thirties do miss more payments due to the fact that they do generally have more financial responsibilities. This will not change so missed payments are more than likely to continue.