EXPERTS: BOOMERS WHO DON’T PLAN MIGHT SEE RETIREMENT BLOW UP IN DIVORCE

It’s America’s largest generation and it has been setting standards and breaking rules for decades. As its members start to hit retirement age, Baby Boomers are setting yet another precedent by divorcing at unheard of rates in Fort Worth and across the nation.

Since 1990, divorces among people age 50 and older have doubled. One out of every four divorces in the nation includes Boomers. The problem, experts say, is that in some cases the older Boomers are putting their retirement plans in danger when they divorce.

Fortunately, many of them can carve out with financial planners and family law attorneys retirement plans that will carry them through their golden years.

A sociology professor who co-authored a report on “The Gray Divorce Revolution” says that so-called “gray divorce can be economically devastating for some people, especially for women who have been out of the labor force bearing children.”

The problem is straightforward: when they’re married, people pool their resources for retirement. When they divorce, they split those resources. Afterwards, those same resources must fund two retirements rather than a single shared retirement.

Unsurprisingly, two retirements costs quite a bit more than a single, shared retirement. Experts say it can cost 50 percent or more to fund separate retirements.

For many people, that extra cost is going to require them to downsize their retirement plans. In some cases, retirement might even have to be shelved for a significant period, as people work to replenish savings and pension funds.

For those facing divorce, there are a host of pressing financial and legal questions that need answers. The process of getting answers and finding solutions begins with a conversation with an experienced family law attorney.

Categories:
Family Law