Your credit score is with you for life; which means it’s with you before and after your retirement. Your credit score summarizes your financial life; unless you end your financial life (which means you never buy anything again), your credit score is important to you.
Do not make the mistake of thinking that at retirement your credit score becomes less important or just becomes a non-issue. Your credit score is just as important after retirement as it was before retirement; unless you plan on ceasing to exist as a consumer during your retirement.
What’s In My Credit Score
Your credit score is based on your credit history, the amount of credit you have had available to you compared to the amount of credit you use, your payment history, your debt to income history and your employment history.
When you retire you will lose the debt to income history and employment history that creditors use to analyze your credit scores. However, the other factors that creditors use will still be relevant, so you must stay diligent about keeping a good credit score.
Always Keep Improving Your Credit Score
Personal credit score improvement is still necessary even when you have stopped working; otherwise you will be paying more for everything you buy. Credit score improvement is sometimes even more important after retirement because you will have less money therefore can’t always afford to pay more for everything you buy.
If your credit score is on the low side (below 750) there are many reasons why you need to work on credit score improvement to raise your score.
Credit
Even in retirement you may still need to rely on credit once in a while. If you don’t want to be denied credit, keep your credit score above 750. The financial industry considers a score ranging from 300 – 750 to be a bad credit score. A good credit score range is from 750 to 850. A perfect credit score is 850.
Loans
To be charged the lowest interest rates on loans, keep on improving your credit even after you retire. When you retire you will still be a vital part of the economy; you may still need to take out loans. Auto loans, home equity loans, maybe even student loans.
Identity Theft
Check your credit reports to help avoid identity theft. The last thing any one needs in their financial life is to have their identity stolen; your credit reports will help you monitor that. Get your free credit scores once a year. You can get a free credit score every year from each of the 3 national credit reporting agencies.
Credit Report Errors
Credit reporting agencies are not responsible for the accuracy of the information they receive. These credit reporting agencies are just required to report the information, they are not required to verify it. So it is up to you to verify that the information on your credit reports is accurate.