According to recent polls, a lot of Michigan credit card holders worry that their issuers will close their credit card accounts after they retire. Luckily, this is not the case. Because credit reports don’t disclose income information, credit card companies won’t even know that you’re retired. As long as Michigan retirees keep their credit cards active and make their payments on time, their accounts normally stay open. Also, whether they realize it or not, this is good news for those set to retire. Even if you don’t often rely on credit after retirement, it is wise to keep your options open. You never know when you might need a car loan or home improvements. So, Michigan retirees should keep their credit cards active and their credit scores high.
Why Michigan Consumers Should Keep their Credit Cards Active After Retirement
If Michigan retirees stop using their credit card accounts, their issuers may eventually close them. This, however, has nothing to do with their lack of employment. Instead, credit card companies frequently close inactive accounts because it costs money to keep them open. If this happens to you, and an issuer closes one of your older, more established credit cards, your credit score will drop for two reasons. First, your available credit drops. Then, you lose points because the average age of your reported accounts also takes a dip.
Finally, if you stop using credit cards or loans for several years, by most credit scoring models, you become “unscorable.” At this point, if you apply for a loan or credit card, a creditor or lender may not approve you because of you lack a recent credit history. Unfortunately, this frequently happens to retirees in Michigan. They stop thinking about credit because they don’t need it. Then, when they do need credit, they have trouble getting it.
By keeping your credit cards active, you can avoid facing this dilemma down the road. In order to maintain their credit scores without building debt, Michigan retirees should use credit cards sparingly. One good strategy is to pick one expense, like gas, and only charge that to your credit card. Then, simply pay off the bill every month. This way, you’re not spending extra money in order to hold on to your credit standing.
Why Michigan Retirees Should Continue Checking their Credit Reports
In addition to keeping credit card accounts open, Michigan retirees should also check their credit reports at least once every 12 months. This is how frequently the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) allows you to request free copies of your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. Also, the easiest way to get credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian all in one place is to visit www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the only free credit report website authorized by the federal government.
Even when Michigan consumers don’t actively use credit, they are still vulnerable to identity theft. In fact, identity thieves often target retired individuals because in hopes that it will take retirees longer to notice fraudulent activity. Don’t let this happen. Check your credit reports and look for unauthorized accounts or bogus transactions. Then, if you find anything that looks suspicious, file a police report immediately. You will need a copy of this report during the credit repair process.
Reviewing your credit reports also gives you an opportunity to identify mistakes and errors on your credit reports. Surprisingly, about 80% of Michigan credit reports contain inaccuracies of some kind. Sadly, many of these mistakes are significant enough to damage credit scores.
The good news for Michigan retirees is that they don’t have to deal with credit report errors or identity theft damage on their own. Just contact Credit Repair Lawyers of America in Michigan, and we’ll help you through the entire credit report recovery process. When you call our firm, our credit pros will connect you with an experienced credit attorney who will fix your credit issues – for free.
The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit in Michigan
Don’t let fraudulent items or errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America in Michigan, we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? All of our fees come from the defendants in settled cases. This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (248) 353-2882 or contact us on our contact page.
For more information about Free Credit Repair, please visit https://creditrepairlawyersam.com/michigan/credit-repair/. Or, to learn more about Free Credit Repair After Identity Theft, check out https://creditrepairlawyersam.com/michigan/id-theft-repairs/.
