Beat the debt burden
Withfewsavingsin super,singlewomen over 60 oftenstruggle financially
SusanHelyhasbeena seniorinvestment
writer at The Sydney Morning Herald. She
wrote the best-selling Women & Money.andgrandchildren.“Everyoneintheirfam-
ilypullsonthem,”shesays.W
hen Elizabeth’s
hot water sys-
tem blew up she
didn’t have spare funds
to fix it. The 66-year-old
needed around $1200 to
buy a new system and
have it installed.
Living alone, Elizabeth
didn’t want to ask her
adult children, who had
their own families, for
help or to load up her
credit card, which already
had a long-standing debt
of $7000. So she had to
live without hot water
for six months.
Before she went to hos-
pital for a second knee operation, she visit-
ed her bank for advice. The loans manager
suggested she take out a reverse mortgage.
But it sounded like a lot of trouble for a hot
water system.
Then she heard a radio interview with
a financial counsellor and booked to
see Kristen Hartnett, with the Salvation
Army’s Moneycare. Hartnett, who has
18 years’ experience helping people with
financial problems, told Elizabeth she had
done the right thing by avoiding a reverse
mortgage and suggested she consider a
no-interest loan instead.
Elizabeth is typical of the many older,
stoic women with debt whom Hartnett is
seeing more and more. Single women aged
over 60 are in the lowest income group in
the 2017 HILDA (Household, Income and
Labour Dynamics in Australia) survey,
earning on average around $30,000 a
year. About 34% of single women aged
over 60 live in poverty.
Hartnett says the older women she sees
are typically highly capable and tenacious,
but for a number of reasons – such as an
earlier than planned retirement or the
death of a partner – find themselves in
debt. Often they still support adult childrenWhereto gethelp
Whileit is temptingtotakeonmoredebt,
thebeststrategyis toavoid:- Takingona paydayloan;
- Increasingthelimitonyourcreditcard;
- Gettinga rent-to-buydeal;
- Goingbankrupt,asit hasseriousconse-
quences.
Instead,talktoa professionalfinancial
counsellorwhois trainedtoclearlyexplain
youroptions.Financialcounsellingis free,
confidentialandindependent.
CalltheNationalDebtHelpline,a not-for-
profitservice,on 1800007007 between
9.30amand4.30pm,fromMondayto
Friday,orvisitndh.org.au.
Considera no-orlow-interestloan.
Seenils.com.autofindoutmore.
No-interestloansaretypicallyfor
householdappliances,medicalemergen-
cies,repairs,funerals,relocation,petbills,
computers, bedsandmuchmore.Butthey
can’tbeusedforrent,generalexpenses
or debt repayment.
Susan Hely FAMILY MONEY
She has seen women
who take out personal
loans for their children’s
weddings, pay their rent
or pay all the bills for
working kids who still
live at home. “They don’t
want their kids to feel
discomfort,” she says.
When financial diffi-
culties arise, typically
older women load up the
credit card or, worse, visit
a payday lender. This is
because they don’t have
the back-up of superan-
nuation. Around 50%
of women retire with
a super balance under
$50,000, compared with 33% of men.
Women’s pattern of career breaks to raise
children or be caregivers costs their super
an average of nearly $160,000, according to
Women in Super, an advocacy group.
Also, lower earnings catch up with wom-
en in old age. The HILDA survey found
that up until 28, male and female earnings
are on par but then they diverge signifi-
cantly. While the female average weekly
income remains between $1000 and $1250,
the male average increases to over $2000
before age 40.
What can older women with financial
problems do?
Hartnett says it is important for them to
reach out to their network for support if
they are experiencing difficulties. If they
have credit card debt, speak to the hardship
department that all major lenders operate.
“You will be pleasantly surprised with
what they do.”
She recommends that women in debt
investigate the No Interest Loan Scheme
(nils.com.au) to see if they qualify.