‘Silver splitters’ drive rise in elderly nuptials

Marriage rates have fallen among younger people, but those aged over 65 are increasingly remarrying

MARRIAGES of people older than 65 have seen the biggest increase in a decade, as “silver splitters” begin new chapters in their lives.

The average age of women who got married in England and Wales in 2008 was 33.8 years and 36.5 for men, which rose to 35.8 and 38.1 respectively in 2018, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is partly due to the surge of socalled “silver splitters”, those who divorce then remarry in later life, claim statisticians.

The number of brides and grooms aged 65 and over has gone up more than any other age bracket in the past decade, the report found. Between 2004 and 2014, there was a rise of 46 per cent from 7,468 to 10,937. And the numbers have been steadily climbing since 2009.

Access to dating websites and financial independence are among the reasons suggested for this surge in later-life marriage.

“Marriage rates have generally been decreasing among younger ages for both men and women, and increasing at older ages,” said the ONS.

“This long-term decline is a likely consequence of increasing numbers of men and women delaying marriage, or couples choosing to cohabit rather than marry, either as a precursor to marriage or as an alternative.

“The increase in older people ending and forming new relationships is likely to be because they are living longer. We also know that older people are more connected, economically and socially, than they were before.

“People aged 65 and over are more likely than ever to be working, and therefore be able to support themselves. They’re also catching up with younger people in their use of the internet – perhaps trying out online dating.

“We can’t rule out practical reasons for older couples deciding to tie the knot. One of these may be a substantial change to inheritance tax rules made in October 2007, which allowed married couples or those in civil partnerships to transfer their tax-free allowances between each other.”

An increase in divorcees who remarry in later life is not the only break with tradition in the past 10 years. Religious marriage ceremonies are also in steep decline, the ONS figures show.

They accounted for only one in five (21.1 per cent) of opposite-sex marriages in 2018, which is the smallest proportion since records began.

Alice Rogers, a senior associate at Hall Brown Family Law, said the figures underlined a shift in the attitudes of young couples.

“Couples now place a greater premium on investing the kind of sums which they might once have spent on their wedding day putting down a deposit on a home instead,” she said.

Marriage rates for opposite-sex couples in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest levels since records began in 1862, the report also found.

In 2018, marriage rates for heterosexual couples were at 20.1 marriages per 1,000 unmarried men and 18.6 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women.