Elderly Americans are filing for bankruptcy in record numbers, according to a study by AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons. At the same time, support is drying up from meal, transportation and other home assistance agencies that can’t pay their own bills.

“There's no question that the downturn in the economy is dramatically impacting those at the doorstep of retirement and those that have already decided to retire,” said Mark Kitchens, a senior vice president of AARP.

The numbers are stark. Of the more than 1 million Americans who filed for bankruptcy last year, nearly a quarter were 55 and up, AARP found. Bankruptcy filings among those ages 75 to 84 skyrocketed by 433 percent from 1991 to 2007.

“We are getting more and more calls from seniors looking for jobs, every day,” said Peggy Clarke, director of a job bank run by Positive Maturity, a senior agency in Birmingham, Ala.

“Plus, their age is higher every time,” Clarke said. “We’re talking about people in their 80s who are saying that they have to go back to work, even if it’s part-time.”

At a bankruptcy hotline operated by Utah Legal Services, a nonprofit support agency, pleas for help pour in from seniors in debt, intimidated by persistent calls from bill collectors.

“They’re calling because they want to file for bankruptcy,” said Sylvia Bosen, a spokeswoman for the agency. “Some of them think they may go to jail.”

This whole mess in horrible what it is doing to our elderly citizens. they cannot go to jail for an un paid bill. More needs to be done to educate all americans in the way of what can and cannot be done by companies.

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This is really a horrible stuff.I personally feel that they should have subsidies and allowance to help them live a better life.