More people retiring in debt

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The survey, by Help the Aged and Barclays, found that a quarter of people approaching retirement age have outstanding consumer credit commitments.

It said there had been "considerable growth" in sums of money borrowed by credit users, including older people.

Credit users aged in their late 50s and early 60s owed on average £3,000 and £2,000 respectively in 2005 - at least four times the amount owed by their counterparts in 1995. UK consumers owe more than £1 trillion in secured and unsecured borrowing.

Those with the highest incomes were most likely to be using credit - but a quarter of over-50s living in the poorest 40% of households in Britain had outstanding credit commitments.

Across all ages, between 1995 and 2005 the average amount of outstanding debt for those with any credit rose three times. The fastest growth was for those aged 55 to 59 and 60 to 64.

Help the Aged voiced concerns about the impact on pensioner poverty and said the Government's financial education plans should meet older people's needs. It said new retirees face the "double whammy" of living on a fixed income while managing existing credit commitments.

Help the Aged head of policy David Sinclair warned of a "ticking timebomb".

He said: "This report shows that there are some worrying trends in credit usage that could represent a debt crisis for those coming up to retirement. We know from working with older people suffering from chronic debt problems that even owing a relatively small amount of money can cause untold misery for those living on a fixed income."

The charity said the Government should introduce a strategy to continue progress in tackling pensioner poverty. It called for an overhaul of the Social Fund to meet the needs of the poorest pensioners.