This study investigated the association between personal debt and psychological well-being among older adults aged 51 and above, with a specific focus on unsecured debt. The research explored the role of health literacy in this relationship. Data from the 2018 and 2020 waves of the Health and Retirement Study were utilized with a sample size of 10,687, involving respondents who completed both a core survey and a psychosocial leave-behind questionnaire. The analysis revealed that 35.9% of respondents had unsecured debt, and the presence of such debt was significantly associated with lower psychological well-being. Health literacy was a significant mediator between the deleterious role of unsecured debt in psychological well-being. Given that medical debt constitutes a sizable proportion of unsecured debt for older individuals, possessing greater knowledge of one's health situation appears to mitigate the psychological distress associated with debt. Interventions aimed at enhancing the ability of older adults to access and comprehend health-related information and services may serve as a protective measure against the negative psychological consequences of grappling with unsecured debt.
