Contact: John Hartgen

            
703-894-5935

            
jhartgen@abiworld.org

GROWTH OF
OLDER AMERICANS FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY OUTPACES REST OF POPULATION,
ACCORDING TO STUDY IN LATEST ABI JOURNAL

August 23, 2010, Alexandria,
Va. — A study released in the September issue of the
ABI Journal found that Americans ages 55 and older are filing for
bankruptcy at an increasing rate. The study, “Aging and Bankruptcy
Revisited,” was written by John Golmant and James
Woods at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to update a
2002 study that examined the degree to which bankruptcy filings are a
function of age. While the bulk of bankruptcies are filed by middle-aged
Americans, the percentage of filers ages 55 and over grew 61 percent
from 2002 to 2007, according to Golmant and Woods. “This
significant demographic uptick in older bankruptcy filers has
outstripped the aging of the general population as a whole,”
Golmant and Woods wrote.

The study found that the median
age for bankruptcy filers increased to 44.9 years of age in 2007, from
37.7 years of age in 1994 and 41.4 years of age in 2002. The demographic
that experienced the largest percentage drop in bankruptcy filings were
Americans under 25 years old; they accounted for only 1.7 percent of
filers in 2007, as compared to 4 percent in 2002 and 11 percent in
1994.

Golmant and Woods updated their
study to determine whether the age trends examined in their previous
study continued after the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and
Consumer Protection Act of 2005. The authors analyzed samples of 2007
national bankruptcy filing data and compared it with data from 1994 and
2002.

“Baby Boomers”
(born between 1946-1964) accounted for 42 percent of all filers in 2007.
“The recent housing crisis has worsened the already precarious
financial condition of many older Americans,” the study said.
States that experienced decreases in the home price index had a 118
percent increase in bankruptcy filings, showing that the collapse of the
housing bubble left many Baby Boomers with little or no home
equity.

The study also found that one
of the effects of BAPCPA has been an increase in the percentage of
chapter 13 filings, but that it was difficult to gauge whether BAPCPA
itself is causing the trend. “Another possibility is that, due to
the mortgage crisis, more debtors were trying to postpone foreclosure on
their homes by filing chapter 13,” according to the
study.

To obtain a copy of
“Aging and Bankruptcy Revisited,” please contact John
Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or via email at
href='mailto:jhartgen@abiworld.org'>
face='Times New Roman'>jhartgen@abiworld.org
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education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to
provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy
issues. The ABI membership includes more than 12,600 attorneys,
accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround
specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for
the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on
ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information,
visit
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