Soaring toll of women going broke AFTER turning 65

THE number of British women over 65 declaring insolvency has almost doubled over ten years.

More than 2,000 of them went bankrupt or used formal debt repayment procedures in 2018, compared to just 1,100 in 2008, according to data from the Insolvency Service.

The rapid rise – the fastest of any demographic – means that insolvency now afflicts women more than men. The number of women who went insolvent overall increased from 35,000 to 55,000 between 2008 and 2018, while the number of men going broke went down from 49,000 to 44,600.

Older women are in a more precarious position as, on average, they have smaller pensions as a result of spending more time out of work during their lives, experts said. Their nest eggs are also smaller due to a lifelong gender pay gap. Older women also suffer age discrimination when applying for jobs, and are more likely to be out of work in their 50s and 60s caring for grandchildren or elderly relatives then men.

Personal insolvency includes bankruptcy, Individual Voluntary Arrangements and Debt Relief Orders. An IVA is a legally binding agreement to pay back debt over a period of time, while a DRO freezes debt for a year then writes it off completely if the individual’s circumstances have not changed.

Although insolvencies are rising fastest among older women, the most likely age group to look for a route out of debt are women aged 25 to 34. Stuart Lewis, founder of over-50s advice service Rest Less, which obtained the data, said: ‘It’s no surprise that insolvencies amongst women over 65 are rising faster than other groups.

‘Many women over 55 are already at higher risk of finding themselves in a financially precarious position.

‘They are more likely to be made redundant, to be in long-term unemployment and face age discrimination when applying for jobs.

‘Women in their 50s and 60s are also more likely to have taken time out of the workplace and to have caring responsibilities, whether for elderly relatives, partners or grandchildren. There is also a wide gulf in private pension savings between men and women – due to 40 years of an historical gender pay gap.’

Mark Sands, chairman of the Personal Insolvency Committee at the trade body R3 said: ‘For the over65s, unique challenges include living on fixed pension incomes with barely any returns on savings.

‘When you’re in this situation, it’s no surprise that you might be more vulnerable to financial shocks. You just don’t have as much flexibility.’

The total value of debt held by the over-55s has gone up by almost half since 2014. One in five over-55s now have credit card debt, 9 per cent have car finance and 7 per cent have personal loans, according to data compiled by lender More2life.

Almost half do not have enough savings to cover an unexpected £5,000 bill – putting tens of thousands at risk of insolvency, the research found.

‘Facing age discrimination’