Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Q&A

Will loan payoff help or hurt credit scores?

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Dear Liz: Two years ago, my husband was denied a revolving $12,000 line of credit. The credit reporting agency indicated that denial was based on “little revolving usage, insufficient or no bank lines, and insufficient open accounts with zero balances.” Nine months ago, however, he was approved for a car loan and received a FICO Auto V2 Score of 808 from the same credit reporting agency. Another credit reporting agency gave him a FICO Auto 04 Score 836. We had wanted to pay cash for this car but thought it would be wise for my husband to improve his credit, so he got an interest-free loan. My husband was recently approved for and obtained a credit card with a $20,000 revolving credit limit. He previously had a card with a $2,000 limit. He will pay off the balances each month. Our question: How long should he wait to pay off the car loan so that the payoff helps his credit and doesn’t hurt it? We don’t like having outstanding debt and have no other loan obligations.

Answer: Occasionally there’s a conflict between doing what’s best for your finances and doing what’s best for your credit scores.

Paying off an installment loan early, for example, normally is good for your wallet since you’re saving money on interest. But this payoff may come with a cost. While the closed account can remain on your credit report for years, contributing positively to your scores, you’ll get somewhat more of a positive impact if you don’t rush to pay it off. The open account will do more good for your scores than a closed account.

In your case, however, there is no conflict. This is an interest-free loan, so you’re paying absolutely nothing for the option of keeping the account open as long as possible. If your primary concern is supporting your husband’s excellent credit scores, consider getting over your aversion to debt and enjoy the free use of the lender’s money.

(OK, it may not be totally free. Buyers who get zero-interest loans often pay more for their cars than those who get market interest rates, according to Edmunds.com. But we’ll assume you thrifty folks bargained hard and really did get free money.)

If your husband can’t tolerate having any debt, he can keep good scores simply by using those credit cards lightly but regularly. The less he uses of his credit limit on the cards each month, the better: 30% or less is good, 20% or less is better, 10% or less is best. Paying the balances in full will ensure he doesn’t have to pay a dime in interest to keep his scores in good standing.

Retiree burdened with unpayable student loan debt

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Dear Liz: In a recent column, you fielded a query from parents whose son took out student loans in the mother’s name. You wrote, “If your only income is from Social Security and you don’t have any other property a creditor can legally take, you may be ‘judgment proof,'” which means “a creditor wouldn’t be able to collect on a judgment against you.”

I understand this advice was meant for the mom. But could it equally apply to the borrower who benefited from the loan?

In my case, I will be 70 next year and my only income is Social Security. I owe about $80,000 in private student loans and about $80,000 in federal student loans. I can’t afford to pay either loan. Is there hope for me to get out from under this burden by being judgment-proof? Right now, I can’t afford to see a bankruptcy attorney. It is a struggle just to pay the rent and put some food on my table.

Answer: You can’t afford not to see a bankruptcy attorney. Federal student loan collectors have enormous powers to collect, including taking a portion of your Social Security check.

The concept of being “judgment proof” applies to collections of private student loans. Collectors for those loans may be held at bay if you are, indeed, judgment proof. But you really want an experienced bankruptcy attorney to review your situation to make sure that’s the case. Fortunately, many bankruptcy attorneys offer free or discounted initial sessions. You can get referrals from the National Assn. of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys at http://www.nacba.org.

Maximizing Social Security benefits requires some patience

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Dear Liz: I am 65 and recently visited our local Social Security office to apply for spousal benefits. (My wife, who is also 65, applied for her own benefit last year.) I wanted to get the spousal benefit, even if the amount is discounted, so I can let my own Social Security benefit grow. The Social Security office manager advised us that I cannot claim spousal benefits until my full retirement age. You said in a recent column that I can. Who is correct?

Answer: You can apply for spousal benefits before your own full retirement age. But doing so means you’re giving up the option of switching later to your own benefit. The office manager gave you correct information, based on your goal. If you want the choice of letting your own benefit grow, you must wait until your full retirement age (66) to apply for spousal benefits.

Stick to an investment plan for best results

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Dear Liz: If I plan to stay invested for more than 15 years and I can tolerate the ups and downs of the market, why would I want to put any of my 401(k) money into bonds instead of putting it all in various stock funds? The bond funds in my 401(k) have a five-year return of 5% to 6% whereas the other funds are 8% to 13%.

Answer: If you look at the more recent performance of those bond funds, you’ll notice that their returns are considerably worse. Many have been losing money lately as interest rates have risen. That poor performance may worsen if the economy improves and rates continue to rise.

But you need to consider more than recent performance when allocating your portfolio. Bonds and cash can cushion your account against big downturns in the stock market. That can help keep you from panicking and selling at a bottom.

If you’re as risk tolerant as you think and decades away from retirement, you might be able to put as little as 10% of your portfolio into bonds and cash. If you’re 15 to 20 years from retirement, a 20% bond allocation may be more prudent. A fee-only financial planner can help advise you about sensible asset allocations, or you can check out the stock and bond mixes of target date funds offered by leading mutual fund companies (such as the Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Fund, if you’ll be retiring around 2030).

Will credit scores be helped by faster loan paydown?

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Dear Liz: I had a 730 credit score and went shopping for a car. The inquiries on my credit report took my score down to 704. Now that I have the auto loan, does it help my score to make larger payments and reduce the principal faster? The payment is currently $375 but I could pay $500 a month if this is advantageous.

Answer: It’s unlikely the auto loan inquiries lowered your credit score by that much. An inquiry typically dings your scores by less than five points. Even if the dealership queried several lenders on your behalf, all the auto loan inquiries typically would be combined and counted as one. What’s far more likely is that other information on your credit report changed, affecting your score. A higher balance on a single credit card could have that effect.

By the way, you don’t have one credit score, you have many. Each credit bureau sells different versions of the FICO score to lenders, and auto lenders typically use a version of the FICO tweaked for their industry. It’s possible your lender used just one of these FICO scores to evaluate you, but others might use three — one from each bureau. Also, if you’re monitoring your score using a free service or one sold by a bureau, the number you’re seeing might not be a FICO at all but some alternate credit score that lenders don’t typically use.

To answer your question: Reducing the balance on an installment loan, such as a car loan or mortgage, would help your scores, but not nearly as much as paying down revolving accounts, such as credit cards. If you have any credit card debt, you’d be far better off using your extra money to pay off those bills. Not only would doing so help your scores more, but it also would have a bigger effect on your finances, since credit card interest is typically far higher than that charged on an auto loan.