For millions of retirees, Social Security serves as a financial foundation and a predictable source of income. That stability is being tested in today's tough economic landscape, though, as many older borrowers are facing the same debt issues as younger borrowers, and they are doing so with fixed incomes that leave little margin for error. With credit card balances at record levels , and with average credit card APR hovering above 21%, it's easy for even modest balances to spiral into something