The speed of divorce amongst People age 50 and older has doubled because the Nineties. It has tripled for adults over 65 years previous.So-called “grey divorce” places girls at excessive monetary danger.There are steps girls can take now to guard themselves.Laylabird | E+ | Getty ImagesBreaking up in previous age may be expensive, particularly for ladies.The speed of “grey divorce” — a time period that describes divorce at age 50 and older — doubled from 1990 to 2019, in line with a 2022 examine printed in The Journals of Gerontology. It tripled for adults over age 65.In 1970, about 8% of People who divorced have been age 50 and older. By 2019, that share had jumped to an “astounding” 36%, the examine discovered.About 1 in 10 individuals — 9% — who divorced in 2019 have been no less than 65 years previous.In the meantime, charges of divorce have declined amongst youthful adults, in line with Susan Brown and I-Fen Lin, sociology professors at Bowling Inexperienced State College who authored the evaluation.In heterosexual relationships, grey divorce sometimes “has extra damaging implications for ladies than for males,” mentioned Kamila Elliott, an authorized monetary planner and co-founder of Collective Wealth Companions, based mostly in Atlanta.Research recommend girls’s family earnings usually drops between 23% and 40% within the 12 months after a divorce.The financial results are “much less extreme” for males, with some research displaying their earnings might even rise after a breakup, in line with Laura Tach and Alicia Eads, sociology professors at Cornell College and the College of Toronto, respectively. The duo have co-authored a number of papers on the subject.Extra from Girls and Wealth:Here is a have a look at extra protection in CNBC’s Girls & Wealth particular report, the place we discover methods girls can enhance earnings, save and take advantage of alternatives.These monetary disparities appear to be extra muted for youthful generations of ladies as a result of a larger chance of them working relative to older cohorts, consultants mentioned. Many older adults who divorce in the present day adhered to the normal notion of a person as a family’s sole breadwinner, they mentioned.”We’re seeing girls in divorce in the present day who’re of the technology the place they only did not work their whole life,” mentioned Natalie Colley, a CFP based mostly in New York and senior lead advisor at Francis Monetary.Girls additionally are inclined to earn decrease incomes than males as a result of a persistent wage hole; they have a tendency to have much less financial savings, and near-retirees who’re divorcing haven’t got a lot time to make up the distinction. Divorced girls can declare a Social Safety profit based mostly on their very own earnings or a former partner’s earnings historical past, however the latter possibility is mostly price solely as much as half of an ex’s profit.Remarrying or cohabitating usually helps bolster one’s funds through pooling of sources. However girls who endure grey divorce are much less seemingly to take action than males: Solely 22% of ladies re-partnered within the decade after grey divorce versus 37% of males, placing them at “sustained financial drawback into previous age,” in line with a separate paper by Brown and Lin.Altogether, girls’s way of life declined by 45% following a grey divorce, whereas the drop for males was much less extreme, at 21%, Brown and Lin wrote.These damaging financial outcomes persevered over time, “indicating that grey divorce operates as a power financial pressure,” they mentioned.Poverty ranges amongst girls sufficiently old to qualify for Social Safety retirement advantages are nearly twice as excessive for ladies who divorced after age 50 as those that divorced earlier than age 50, Brown and Lin discovered; the identical is not true for males.Courtneyk | E+ | Getty ImagesHere are some steps girls can take to guard towards the monetary pitfalls of a possible future divorce, in line with monetary advisors.Get lively in your family funds. “Girls ought to take a really lively position of their family funds,” mentioned Elliott, a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council.Girls should not get to a degree the place they’re unaware of their family’s spending, financial savings, and mortgage funds and rates of interest, for instance, she mentioned. Such info may come as a shock upon divorce, and ladies might be taught they don’t seem to be financially well-protected.Moreover, being unengaged from monetary decision-making might imply they’re ill-equipped to deal with their very own funds in the event that they turn out to be single, Colley mentioned.”I am unable to let you know what number of occasions I’ve met {couples} the place the girl had no concept what the husband was doing financially,” Elliott mentioned.Have entry to your personal cash. Many {couples} commingle their monetary accounts. Many ladies may be approved customers of bank cards as a substitute of main house owners, Elliott mentioned.However girls ought to guarantee they’ve entry to their very own funds so their partner cannot shut off the monetary spigot if a relationship sours, Elliott mentioned.Moreover, girls ought to think about investing or saving in their very own retirement account, she added.Retirement savers usually want earned earnings to open and contribute to a person retirement account; nevertheless, girls who do not work can open a “spousal IRA” based mostly on their partner’s earnings. (You have to be married and file a joint tax return to open one.)Be strategic about claiming Social Safety. Social Safety is a vital supply of assured earnings in retirement, particularly for ladies.The sequence of claiming advantages may be essential for married {couples} and might help girls hedge towards divorce (or widowhood) later, Colley mentioned.For instance, to illustrate a husband is eligible for a bigger Social Safety profit relative to his feminine partner. He can defer claiming advantages to age 70, thereby maximizing his lifetime month-to-month profit.That will increase the month-to-month profit his spouse may obtain upon divorce or widowhood, and helps maximize a girl’s money move in such circumstances, Colley mentioned.Avoid wasting alimony. If a girl receives alimony after a divorce, she ought to goal to avoid wasting of it, as a substitute of spending all of it, Elliott mentioned. That is as a result of alimony usually solely lasts for a sure interval — and ladies should make it final, she mentioned.I am unable to let you know what number of occasions I’ve met {couples} the place the girl had no concept what the husband was doing financially.Kamila Elliottcertified monetary planner and co-founder of Collective Wealth Companions”Simply since you get alimony, it isn’t enterprise as normal” relative to spending ranges, she mentioned. “You most likely must reassess your life-style.”Take into account a prenuptial or postnuptial settlement. {Couples} may also think about a prenuptial settlement or postnuptial settlement that incorporates provisions to guard a girl financially if she leaves the workforce to care for his or her kids, for instance, Colley mentioned.Doing so usually completely dents the caregiver’s incomes energy, and a authorized settlement might help insulate towards that monetary danger, she added. For instance, maybe it stipulates the girl will get a assured stream of earnings for a sure variety of years if the wedding dissolves, Colley mentioned. She recommends working with an legal professional who makes a speciality of such authorized paperwork.