1. Introduction
Older Americans, like many of their younger counterparts, increasingly have debts in collection. From 2002 to 2012, the percentage of American consumers with at least one account in collection increased from less than 9 percent to a record 14.6 percent (approximately 30 million adults).1 Older Americans are likely to continue being part of this trend as many of them hold debt and struggle to stay current on their obligations.2
Since September 2013, consumers have submitted more complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) about debt collection than about any other product or service.3 Older consumers are no exception to this trend. This snapshot provides an overview of the debt collection complaints that older consumers submitted to the CFPB from July 2013 to September 2014.
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