New data shows that while people in low-income categories are paying off debt, higher earners are on the back foot before the month has even begun.
South Africa’s highest earners are taking on debt at levels that are putting them on the back foot before the month has even begun.
According to DebtBusters’ latest second-quarter Debt Index, consumers earning more than R50,000 a month require 103% of their take-home pay to service their debt. Their total debt is equivalent to 307% of their annual net income.
The data shows that unsecured debt among consumers in this income group is 84% higher than it was in 2021. Over the same period, cumulative inflation was 29%, while income growth for the group was 7%.
Benay Sager, executive head of DebtBusters, said the average size of unsecured loans has increased over the past decade, while the number of loans has declined.
