High earners and people educated to degree level are particularly likely to have missed a credit payment over the year running to last autumn, according to a survey.
In the previous 12 months, 24% of six-figure earners, 14% of people with a doctorate and 12% of graduates generally had missed a payment, compared with 9% of lower earners with incomes under £10,000, specialist lender Pepper Money found.
Across the survey, one in 10 (10%) of people said they had missed a credit payment over the past year.
This included a fifth (21%) of 18 to 24-year-olds, compared with just 3% of people aged 55 and over.
Pepper Money suggested that access to bigger credit facilities against the backdrop of tuition fee debt is amplifying financial risk, even among those traditionally seen as financially secure.
Rather than overspending, many households are simply struggling to absorb multiple rising costs at once, the research indicated.
Cost of living increases, unexpected bills and supporting children into adulthood were among the reasons for people’s debts, according to the survey.
Paul Adams, from Pepper Money, said: “These figures show just how close many households are to credit difficulty.”
The survey was carried out by Opinium among 4,000 people across the UK in September and October.
