So, paying off collections could very well improve your credit-worthiness in the eyes of a lender. Since your collections are 2 and 3 years old, your FICO score will consider them for several more years  typically, collections remain on your credit report for 7 years.The best things you can do in the mean time are to continually pay all your bills on time and be responsible for your credit.ollections  how to manage them and what they do to your credit. Dear myFICO, I have a few collections on my credit report that are 2-3 years old. I'm not sure if it's better to pay them off or just let them fall off the report.