Debt

Part of the Life Well Spent Report 2026

Spoiler: debt is going down for over 50s, but is that the case across all UK adults? And which debts affect our happiness the most?

Almost half of us have outstanding debts

46% of people over 50 have outstanding debts, compared to the national average of 56%. This is 1% higher than 2025 and 2% higher since our first report in 2022. Like previous years, the debts are mostly credit cards and personal loans, but also overdrafts.

32% of retirees have outstanding debts (same as 2025), compared to 62% of non-retirees (+8%).

And perhaps unsurprisingly, the happiest over 50s are 10% less likely to be in debt than the overall average for over 50s.

The most common debts for over 50s

	2026	2025
Credit cards	31%	30%
Outstanding mortgage	9%	11%
Personal loans	10%	10%
Overdraft	10%	8%
Car finance	6%	6%
Store cards	7%	8%
Money borrowed from unregulated lenders (loan sharks)	1%
Money borrowed from friends and family	5%	4%
None of these	54%	55%

The average amount over 50s have left to pay on their mortgage is almost £60,000

Over 50s paying a mortgage still have, on average, £56,816 to pay. That is £10,722 less than 2025 but £7,970 more than in 2022.

4% of retirees still have outstanding mortgages (same as 2025), versus 12% of non-retired (-4%). They have an average outstanding amount of £58,540 – up £9,897 since last year.

While most debts for over 50s have gone down between 2025 and 2026, the average amount of money borrowed from friends and family is up from £3,870 to £4,536.

Average debt still left to pay by the over 50s

We’re spending £600 a month on repayments

People over 50 with outstanding debt are spending a total of £600 per month on repayments on average – £96 less than in 2025, and £70 less than the national average. This represents 26% of over 50s’ average annual personal income (£28,031) or 20% of their total annual household income (£36,246) being spent on debt repayment, and that’s before tax or other deductions are made.

Average monthly repayments

While £110 less than 2025, paying the mortgage is still the highest repayment for over 50s at £732. Car finance is the second-biggest expense at £381 (-£44). Credit cards are the third largest (£370), £50 more than 2025.

Retirees are repaying an average of £569 per month across their debts, which is 21% of their average annual household income of £ 32,762.

4 in 10 have paid off debts in the last five years

39% of over 50s have paid off some mid- to long-term debts in the last five years – up 1% since 2025, and up 5% since 2022.

Unfortunately, 16% of over 50s (same as last year) have some debt, but haven’t yet paid off any in full in the past five years.

For those over 50 who have paid off debt in the last five years, over half have paid off their mortgages. The average age of doing so is 53. Those who are most worried about their outstanding mortgage, however, are slightly younger than this at 44.

Debts that have been paid off in the last 5 years by over 50s

Paid off mortgage	52%
Paid off one or more personal loans	21%
Paid off another kind of debt	40%

Paying off debt significantly improves happiness

Of over 50s who haven’t yet paid off their debts, 55% think it would make them happier to do so - just 1% less than last year. 43% (+2%) think it would have no impact on their happiness, while 2% (-1%) think paying everything off would actually reduce their happiness.

But in reality, most people who’ve paid off their debts do feel happier as a result (82% of over 50s – down 2% since 2025), including 53% (+1%) who say they feel significantly happier. And only 1% of over 50s said paying off their debts reduced their happiness.

Effect on happiness for over 50s