56% of Americans Retiring With Debt

Financially speaking, now isn't such a great time to be a new veteran. Or a resident of Nevada. And it's definitely not a good time to be retiring. Newsweek pulls together a handful of recent studies regarding Americans entering their golden years that are downright depressing. Among them:

• Bankruptcies are up: In 2001, Americans age 55 and up made up 12% of bankruptcies in the country; now they account for more than 20%, according to a study by a University of Michigan professor.

• Debt at retirement: What safety cushion? A study by nonprofit personal-finance firm CESI Debt Solutions found that a whopping 56% of retirees bid adieu to the workforce with debts on the books. And almost all of those in-the-red retirees refused to delay retirement to chip away at what they owe.
• Old debtors vs. young debtors: With age comes ... more debt. The University of Michigan study also found that those retirees with debt owed credit cards 50% more than their younger counterparts.
• Why? The CESI survey found that 75% of respondents listed medical or funeral expenses as the reason for that debt.