It's easier to get a free credit report than to know what information it contains is relevant
to getting you credit. But the law makes it easy to also know what factors are irrelevant in
getting credit. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act(ECOA) say that age, along with such things
as gender and race, aren't to be considered when your credit is judged. So if your free credit
report shows you have a good credit record, it's not important if you're 19 or 90.
It use to be that when you retired, your credit was often cut off or reduced. But with the
passage of the ECOA, these automatic actions are outlawed. Whatever rating system a creditor
uses, he can't downgrade your rating simply because you're 62 or older. If you are of legal age
to sign a contract, a creditor can't:
- deny you credit, close an existing account or require you to reapply because of your age;
- offer you less credit or credit with less favorable terms due to your age;
- disallow you credit because credit insurance isn't available for your age group.
The law does recognize that your finances will change with your age and the ECOA allows
certain age related information to be considered. For instance, regardless of your age, if your
income is projected to decrease in the future, a creditor is permitted to take that into
account. Also it's permissable to use age in considering other factors. For instance, a younger
person would have less credit and work history than an older person, so age could
be taken into account when rating these items.
To get your free credit report and free 30 days of credit monitoring, please go to
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