Can creditors sue retirees for unpaid credit card debt?

When credit card balances go unpaid, most creditors don't just shrug and walk away — they take more serious action. Coompia77/Getty Images

For many retirees, the golden years come with a new kind of budgeting challenge: fixed incomes. Even in a normal economy, Social Security checks, pensions and retirement savings may be stretched to cover housing costs, medical bills and everyday expenses, and all of those costs are rising in today's inflationary landscape . Add in the high credit card interest rates we're currently facing — which are hovering above 22% on average — and it's easy to see how some retirees end up carrying credit card balances they can't keep up with.

When those credit card balances go unpaid , though, the creditors who are owed money don't simply shrug and wa