And finally…average Scot to be debt-free at 58 but English have longer wait

Debt FreeScots can expect to become debt-free by the age of 58, eleven years sooner than the average Brit, according to a new report.

Analysis carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research found, meanwhile, that the average Briton will not be clear of their debts – including mortgages – by the time they are 69.

The economics consultancy’s report, which compared people’s expectations in a survey of more than 2,000 people with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also found that homeowners in Wales can expect to be debt-free by the age of 56.

When mortgages were taken into account, households containing people aged 35 to 44-years-old tend to be the most indebted, the report found, owing £87,800 typically.



And people reaching adulthood now are likely to have an even longer wait to reach their “debt-free birthday”, according to the research, commissioned by peer-to-peer lender Zopa.

Someone aged between 16 and 24-years-old now could be aged 74 by the time they can celebrate becoming debt-free, the report found – as rising property prices lead to debts.

Someone aged between 25 and 34-years-old now could be aged 71 by the time they are free of home loans and other debts.

Regionally, there were large variations in when Cebr projects people with a mortgage will have cleared their home loans and other debts.

A home owner in the North East of England could become debt-free aged 57. But households in London will not celebrate their debt-free birthday until around 20 years later – at the age of 77.

The consumer research found that on average, people expect to be aged 50 by the time they have paid these debts off. But the report found actually people are more likely to be 64 when they have cleared these debts.

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