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Retirement & Fixed Income
Carrying debt into or through retirement changes the calculus — there's no future raise to grow into, and some income sources (like Social Security) have special legal protections from most creditors that are worth knowing about before assuming a payment plan is your only option.
Sound familiar?
- •Living on Social Security, a pension, or retirement account withdrawals
- •Weighing whether to draw down retirement savings to pay off debt
- •A fixed income that no longer comfortably covers existing payments
- •Concerned about garnishment of retirement income (which is protected in most cases for most debts)
Options people in this situation weigh
- Confirming which of your income sources are legally protected from creditor garnishment before assuming the worst
- Settlement or consolidation, same as any other unsecured debt situation, adjusted to a fixed-income budget
- Talking to a fee-only financial advisor before drawing down retirement accounts to pay debt — the tax and long-term-security tradeoffs are significant
- Nonprofit credit counseling with specific experience working with retirees
Related reading
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