facebook

Growing delinquencies could push young adults towards bankruptcy

On Behalf of | May 22, 2019 | Bankruptcy

There is little denying the financial impact that the Great Recession had on certain generations. Compared to their parents, both Gen Z and millennials entered adulthood with more conservative attitudes toward finances and debt. However, as time has gone on and memories of the early 2000s are falling away, more and more people in these younger generations could find that bankruptcy is their best bet for handling debt.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student loans are the right kind of debt for people in Connecticut to get into. The bank makes this assertion by pointing out that those with college degrees earn roughly 80% more than people who never graduated college. College graduates also have lower rates of unemployment. However, by 2016, 18% of the U.S. population had at least some student loan debt. That figure was only 10% back in 2004.

It is not just student loan debt that these younger generations are dealing with. While these young adults previously shunned credit card use, 90 day delinquency rates are now highest among adults aged 18 to 29 years old. Credit cards account for the largest portion of these past-due debts. Only 40% of credit card users pay off their full balances every month, which means 60% are struggling with things like interest rates that continually jack up balances.

Young adults in Connecticut might not even realize that bankruptcy is an option for them. Whether in TV shows, movies or other popular forms of entertainment, bankruptcy is often framed as a solution for adults with a few more years under their belt. This is far from reality, as many younger adults struggle with overwhelming debts, stagnant wages and few opportunities to reconcile either of these issues.