34 Million Pay Their Credit-Card Bills Late

Nearly 34 million Americans admit they've been late making credit card payments and about 18 million people say they've missed payments entirely, according to a new survey released today by a national consumer credit counseling group.

"The results of this year's survey are startling, but not surprising," Susan C. Keating, president and CEO of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), said in a statement about the 2009 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey, released today on Capitol Hill.

"We know consumers are struggling financially, and that a lack of financial knowledge is contributing to the problems," Keating said. "It is time that we work together to create a national movement to address the need for more financial education."

The foundation is a coalition of nonprofit consumer credit counseling agencies that provide credit and debt management counseling to consumers seeking relief from overwhelming debt. NFCC conducts an annual survey of consumer attitudes about credit, debt and savings to gauge financial literacy. Nearly 41 percent of the 2009 survey respondents -- or about 92 million adults living in America -- gave themselves grades of C, D or F on their knowledge of personal finance. Eight out of 10 adults say they could benefit from advice and answers to everyday financial questions from a professional.

The survey was released as credit industry analysts project credit card charge-offs could hit a record 12 percent by mid-2010. Charge-offs are when banks write off outstanding debts as uncollectible. Moody's Investors Service, a New York credit rating agency, cites rising unemployment as the primary reason for the spike in charge-offs. The most recent official government figures compiled by the Federal Reserve put the charge-off rate at 6.25 in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Rising charge-offs are an indication that Americans are struggling to pay their bills and may be overloaded with debt. The survey found that four in 10 Americans (44 percent) carry revolving credit card debt. That includes 6 percent who have $10,000 or more in credit card balances. Just under half of Americans (46 percent) report no month-to-month balances, six percent don't know and four percent refused to answer.

Among the survey's other findings: