New Serious Delinquency Rate, Borrowers Age 50 to 59
Share of the age group's debt newly 90 or more days late, four quarters to each quarter
Where the New Serious Delinquency Rate, Borrowers Age 50 to 59 stands now
The New Serious Delinquency Rate, Borrowers Age 50 to 59 was 2.6% in the second quarter of 2026. Since 2000 it has ranged from 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 7.1% in the fourth quarter of 2009.
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How the New Serious Delinquency Rate, Borrowers Age 50 to 59 has moved since 2000
New Serious Delinquency Rate, Borrowers Age 50 to 59: down since 2025
Percent of the age group's balances that went 90 or more days late over the previous four quarters, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax: 2.6% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 2.9% a year earlier. Quarterly, 2000–2026.
What the New Serious Delinquency Rate, Borrowers Age 50 to 59 measures
Measurement basis: For borrowers age 50 to 59, the proportion of outstanding debt that reached 90 or more days past due in the past year (four quarters), all loan types combined, from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (Page 24 Data, 'Transition into Serious Delinquency (90+) by Age'). The New York Fed reports it as a four-quarter moving sum of quarterly transition rates. It is based on the Consumer Credit Panel, a 5 percent sample of Equifax credit records; records with no birth year are dropped. Each figure carries its quarter's end date, and the New York Fed restates earlier quarters at each release.
A higher rate is worse for households.
New Serious Delinquency Rate, Borrowers Age 50 to 59 by quarter, 2000 to 2026
| Quarter | Rate (%) | Change from a year earlier (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 2.6 | −0.3 |
| Q1 2026 | 2.8 | +0.3 |
| Q4 2025 | 3.1 | +1.3 |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8 | +1.0 |
| Q2 2025 | 2.9 | +1.3 |
| Q1 2025 | 2.5 | +1.0 |
| Q4 2024 | 1.8 | +0.5 |
| Q3 2024 | 1.8 | +0.7 |
| Q2 2024 | 1.6 | +0.7 |
| Q1 2024 | 1.5 | +0.6 |
| Q4 2023 | 1.3 | +0.5 |
| Q3 2023 | 1.1 | +0.3 |
| Q2 2023 | 0.9 | +0.2 |
| Q1 2023 | 0.9 | +0.3 |
| Q4 2022 | 0.8 | +0.2 |
| Q3 2022 | 0.8 | +0.1 |
| Q2 2022 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Q1 2022 | 0.6 | −0.3 |
| Q4 2021 | 0.6 | −0.6 |
| Q3 2021 | 0.7 | −0.9 |
| Q2 2021 | 0.7 | −1.2 |
| Q1 2021 | 0.9 | −1.2 |
| Q4 2020 | 1.2 | −0.9 |
| Q3 2020 | 1.6 | −0.4 |
| Q2 2020 | 1.9 | −0.2 |
| Q1 2020 | 2.1 | −0.1 |
| Q4 2019 | 2.1 | −0.1 |
| Q3 2019 | 2.0 | −0.1 |
| Q2 2019 | 2.1 | +0.1 |
| Q1 2019 | 2.2 | +0.3 |
| Q4 2018 | 2.2 | +0.3 |
| Q3 2018 | 2.1 | +0.1 |
| Q2 2018 | 2.0 | −0.1 |
| Q1 2018 | 1.9 | −0.2 |
| Q4 2017 | 1.9 | −0.2 |
| Q3 2017 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Q2 2017 | 2.1 | +0.1 |
| Q1 2017 | 2.1 | 0.0 |
| Q4 2016 | 2.1 | −0.1 |
| Q3 2016 | 2.0 | −0.4 |
| Q2 2016 | 2.0 | −0.4 |
| Q1 2016 | 2.1 | −0.2 |
| Q4 2015 | 2.2 | −0.1 |
| Q3 2015 | 2.4 | 0.0 |
| Q2 2015 | 2.4 | −0.1 |
| Q1 2015 | 2.3 | −0.5 |
| Q4 2014 | 2.3 | −0.5 |
| Q3 2014 | 2.4 | −0.3 |
| Q2 2014 | 2.5 | −0.4 |
| Q1 2014 | 2.8 | −0.2 |
| Q4 2013 | 2.8 | −0.5 |
| Q3 2013 | 2.7 | −1.1 |
| Q2 2013 | 2.9 | −1.0 |
| Q1 2013 | 3.0 | −1.2 |
| Q4 2012 | 3.3 | −0.9 |
| Q3 2012 | 3.8 | −0.4 |
| Q2 2012 | 3.9 | −0.8 |
| Q1 2012 | 4.2 | −0.8 |
| Q4 2011 | 4.2 | −1.6 |
| Q3 2011 | 4.2 | −2.0 |
| Q2 2011 | 4.7 | −1.7 |
| Q1 2011 | 5.0 | −1.8 |
| Q4 2010 | 5.8 | −1.3 |
| Q3 2010 | 6.2 | −0.7 |
| Q2 2010 | 6.4 | −0.6 |
| Q1 2010 | 6.8 | +0.5 |
| Q4 2009 | 7.1 | +1.9 |
| Q3 2009 | 6.9 | +2.3 |
| Q2 2009 | 7.0 | +3.2 |
| Q1 2009 | 6.3 | +3.0 |
| Q4 2008 | 5.2 | +2.4 |
| Q3 2008 | 4.6 | +2.1 |
| Q2 2008 | 3.8 | +1.6 |
| Q1 2008 | 3.3 | +1.4 |
| Q4 2007 | 2.8 | +1.2 |
| Q3 2007 | 2.5 | +1.1 |
| Q2 2007 | 2.2 | +0.9 |
| Q1 2007 | 1.9 | +0.6 |
| Q4 2006 | 1.6 | +0.2 |
| Q3 2006 | 1.4 | −0.2 |
| Q2 2006 | 1.3 | −0.3 |
| Q1 2006 | 1.3 | −0.3 |
| Q4 2005 | 1.4 | −0.2 |
| Q3 2005 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| Q2 2005 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| Q1 2005 | 1.6 | −0.1 |
| Q4 2004 | 1.6 | −0.2 |
| Q3 2004 | 1.6 | −0.3 |
| Q2 2004 | 1.6 | −0.3 |
| Q1 2004 | 1.7 | −0.3 |
| Q4 2003 | 1.8 | −0.1 |
| Q3 2003 | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| Q2 2003 | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| Q1 2003 | 2.0 | +0.2 |
| Q4 2002 | 1.9 | +0.2 |
| Q3 2002 | 1.9 | +0.3 |
| Q2 2002 | 1.9 | +0.4 |
| Q1 2002 | 1.8 | +0.3 |
| Q4 2001 | 1.7 | +0.3 |
| Q3 2001 | 1.6 | +0.3 |
| Q2 2001 | 1.5 | +0.1 |
| Q1 2001 | 1.5 | +0.1 |
| Q4 2000 | 1.4 | — |
| Q3 2000 | 1.3 | — |
| Q2 2000 | 1.4 | — |
| Q1 2000 | 1.4 | — |
Quarterly · New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax
Counties with the highest delinquency scores
There's no county figure for this measure, so this list uses the delinquency part of our County Distress Index.
| Rank | County | Score (0–100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coahoma County, MS | 99.5 |
| 2 | Washington County, MS | 99.3 |
| 3 | Leflore County, MS | 99.3 |
| 4 | Williamsburg County, SC | 99.2 |
| 5 | Dillon County, SC | 98.9 |
| 6 | Clayton County, GA | 98.9 |
| 7 | Yazoo County, MS | 98.6 |
| 8 | Sunflower County, MS | 98.5 |
| 9 | Marlboro County, SC | 98.4 |
| 10 | Dallas County, AL | 98.3 |
Questions about new serious delinquency for borrowers aged 50 to 59
What does this figure show for people in their fifties?
How much of the debt owed by borrowers age 50 to 59 reached 90 or more days late within the past four quarters, as a percent of their balances. Every loan type is included.
Whose debt is it, really?
Often someone else's. This is the age group most likely to hold a Parent PLUS loan or a cosigned private loan for a child's college, or to carry a card balance run up helping an adult child or an aging parent.
Why is time the issue for this group?
A serious delinquency stays on a credit report for seven years, and these borrowers have the fewest working years left to repair a file before a paycheck becomes a pension or a Social Security check.
Are people or dollars being counted?
Dollars. A large mortgage that goes seriously late moves this number more than several small card balances would.
Sources and method for the New Serious Delinquency Rate, Borrowers Age 50 to 59
- New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax Measurement basis: For borrowers age 50 to 59, the proportion of outstanding debt that reached 90 or more days past due in the past year (four quarters), all loan types combined, from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (Page 24 Data, 'Transition into Serious Delinquency (90+) by Age'). The New York Fed reports it as a four-quarter moving sum of quarterly transition rates. It is based on the Consumer Credit Panel, a 5 percent sample of Equifax credit records; records with no birth year are dropped. Each figure carries its quarter's end date, and the New York Fed restates earlier quarters at each release. We use the quarterly figures as published, from the first quarter of 2000 through the second quarter of 2026, with no adjustment of our own. Federal Reserve Bank of New York doesn’t adjust this rate for the season, so compare a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier. Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s report
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.