4 Bills Middle-Class Retirees Wish They Would’ve Cut Sooner

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Retirement is your time to spend more time with family and relax without the stress of a 9-to-5 job. But unfortunately, for many middle-class retirees, monthly bills are still eating away at their budgets. If they had made different financial decisions earlier, they wouldn’t have had to enter retirement with these financial burdens hanging over them.

Here are four bills many middle-class retirees often wish they had cut sooner. 

Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt can be pretty manageable when you have a stable income, but the high APRs can also quickly make it unmanageable once you leave the workforce. According to the Federal Reserve, the average interest assessed on credit cards in Q2 of 2024 was 22.78%, a near record high. 

A report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in 2024 found that 68% of retirees with debt reported having credit card debt outstanding. If retirees had tackled these balances earlier, they would’ve potentially saved thousands in the long run. 

Mortgage Payments

Bringing a mortgage into retirement can also limit your flexibility during your golden years. According to an analysis by LendingTree, more than 10.5 million Americans aged 65 and up still have mortgages. 

The share of Americans aged 75 and over who carry mortgage debt has also been rising steadily over the past few decades, from around 5% in 1995 to 25% in 2022, according to the federal Survey of Consumer Finances. And the amount these retirees owe increased from a median of $14,000 in 1995 to $102,000 in 2022.

Car Loans

As of Q1 2025, auto loan payments averaged $745 per month for new cars and $521 per month for used cars, per Experian. Among retirees, auto loans make up 33.3% of non-mortgage debt on average, according to LendingTree’s findings. 

Unfortunately, many later-in-life borrowers end up paying for cars they don’t need, and regretting the months of extra payments when budgeting on a fixed income.

​​Student Loan Debt

Many middle-class retirees are still paying off their student loans well into their 60s and 70s. Research by Credit Karma found that baby boomers carry the most student loan debt, with an average of $43,554. 

According to the National Consumer Law Center, the number of adults aged 60 or older with student loan debt has grown sixfold in the past two decades, and the amount of debt they carry has multiplied nearly 20 times.

Carrying this kind of debt in retirement can lower your Social Security benefits, since unpaid student loans can be garnished directly from those checks. It also makes it harder to budget for essentials like healthcare or housing.

Why You Should Cut These Bills Before Retirement

When you’re no longer receiving regular paychecks in retirement, debt that once seemed manageable can turn into stress. And when fixed income meets high-interest credit cards, mortgage or car payments, your finances can quickly spiral out of control. 

So if you’re nearing retirement age and are currently carrying more debt than you may be able to manage in retirement, it’s time to reassess your finances and start tackling that debt. This way, you can head into retirement with less financial stress and more flexibility to enjoy the years ahead.

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