Economic Situation and Late-Life Divorce: A ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ Perspective

Objective: This study investigated the association between individuals’ economic situation and divorce among the population aged 60+ in Sweden with a focus on the role of gender and potential changes across cohorts.

Background: Previous research on divorce has mainly considered individuals of working age or all ages combined, although late-life divorce is increasing in several Western countries. Economic considerations regarding divorce may differ for older members of the population, who often have a more restricted economic situation and fewer possibilities to respond to the consequences of a dissolution.

Method: Using Swedish population registers, this study identified trends in late-life divorce among cohorts born 1930-1956. Discrete-time event history analysis was employed to study the relationship between recent and accumulated individual disposable income and a combination of recent income levels for women and men relate to divorce across cohorts.

Results: For women, the results showed a shifting pattern from a positive to a negative gradient of the two income measures for divorce. Men had an increasingly negative income gradient in divorce across cohorts. The results for combined income levels for couples corroborate these patterns. Late-life divorce has become increasingly linked to low income over time.

Conclusion: The novel findings for older individuals mirror the trends in the general population. With the increase in late-life divorce, there is a growing need to understand different aspects of couple dynamics in later life.