More People Over 55 Are Filing for Bankruptcy
October 22nd, 2008
Consumer bankruptcy filings rose 29% in September from a year earlier, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. High levels of debt, heating costs, and falling home values are among the factors contributing to the rise in U.S bankruptcy filings. While Americans of all ages are finding themselves heading into bankruptcy court, it seems that the older people get, the more likely they’ll end up taking this route.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, people over 65 became twice as likely to file for bankruptcy. People over 55 accounted for 22% of bankruptcy filings in 2007, up from 8% in 1971. Those figures came from a study conducted by the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, which examined bankruptcy filings from 1991 to 2007. The main culprits that lead to bankruptcy among older people are jobs and medical costs. But don’t think that all those people who cited medical costs as a reason for bankruptcy didn’t have health insurance. Many of them do, but are forced to pay high premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs that they just can’t afford.
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