“Divorce is the one human tragedy that reduces everything to cash”. – Rita Mae Brown
Thank you for reading our Brandon's Blog. Check out our AI insolvency bot on this page and don't forget to subscribe!
The terms “silver separation” and grey divorce” sound very benign, but their financial ramifications have spelled disaster for many boomer retirees. Instead of travelling the world or spending carefree days on the golf course, many retired baby boomers may now be saddled with a mountain of debt and are trying to figure out how to pay their bills because of grey divorce in Canada.
A study done in 2012 by Bowling Green State University in Ohio revealed that the divorce rate among people who are retired or near retirement had more than doubled in the United States in just 20 years. According to Statistics Canada, divorces among couples 65 years of age and older are becoming more and more common and that the average age at which Canadians divorce has been rising steadily for a number of years. And, this trend is expected to continue. Susan Eng of the national seniors’ advocacy group CARP said that in recent years her office has been seeing an increase in calls from divorcees who are unsure of how they were going to make ends meet now that they were alone.
Although women seem to be the hardest hit, men are not immune. The nest egg that you have accumulated for retirement now has to be divided and you may also be supporting minor children and helping to support adult children and/or ageing and ailing parents. The financial challenges of your new reality may have created more debt that you can handle.
Grey divorce in Canada summary
Debt is a four-letter word but it can be managed with professional help. If you are experiencing serious debt problems because of grey divorce in Canada, or for any other reason, contact Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver. Credit Counselling, Debt Consolidation, and Consumer Proposals are all options that we can explore and then we will come up with a plan that will work best for you. Although life can be difficult after a grey divorce you can start over and live a debt-free life Starting Over, Starting Now.
