Divorce rate rises for over-60s but falls for rest of population
The Office for National Statistics has revealed figures that show the number of divorces among those over 60 is rising. The trend began in the 1990s and contrasts with falling divorce rates for all other age groups.
While part of the reason may simply be the ageing population, with more people over sixty compared to previous decades, other factors listed also include there being less stigma attached to being divorced and more financial independence among women.
In 1991, there were 1.6 divorces per 1,000 married men over 60, which had risen to 2.3 by 2011. Overall divorce rates for men over this period dropped from 13.6/1000 to 10.8, with a similar trend for women.
The ONS also found that the average length of marriage for men aged 60 and over who got divorced in 2011 was 27.4 years where women aged above 60 who divorced that year had been married on average for 31.9 years.
The ONS said: “Because of increasing life expectancies, even with a small chance of divorce during each year of marriage, marriages are now more likely to end in divorce and less likely to end in the death of one spouse than they were in 1991."
It also noted: "The employment rate of women aged 16 to 64 rose from 53% in 1971 to 66% in 2012. This means that women have become more financially independent and are more likely to have built up their own pensions. Therefore, in general, women are now more able to support themselves outside of marriage than in the past."
If you’d like information on divorce or separation, please contact James Haworth at Lawson-West on 0116 212 1080.
