People in Oregon may once have believed that if they were still married by the time they were in their 50s or older that they would no longer have to worry about a divorce. This, however, is quite untrue. In fact, Forbes reports that a Pew Research Center study shows the rate of divorce among people in this age group has jumped a startling 109 percent in the last 25 years. Even for people in their 40s, divorces today happen at a rate 14-percent higher than 25 years ago.
The financial impact of a divorce is real no matter how old each spouse might be at the time. However, for people who are nearing retirement or who may even have already retired, the reality can be even more serious. For most people, retirement is a time in one’s life when incomes fall or at least stagnate, so the loss of precious assets and savings can hit hard. For a person who considers staying employed or going back to work, the reality is that there are limited years left to recoup losses compared to getting divorced at a younger age.
Barron’s recommends that anyone getting divorced at a later stage of life carefully assess their financial picture so they can make necessary changes in their lifestyle.
This assessment should include a detailed listing of all income and expenses. This should include a comparison of these figures as a married person and as a single person because the cost of supporting two households on an asset pool that previously supported only one is much greater.