Sunday, November 17, 2013

More Educated And Higher Income People Filing Bankruptcies

By Cornelius Nunev


It still pays to get a college degree, but perhaps not quite as well as it once did. A recent survey shows that 20 percent more college educated individuals filed for bankruptcy than they did 5 years ago. The age and salary of filers has also increased.

Graduate degree is no guarantee

There was an increase from 2006 to 2010 from 11.2 percent to 13.6 percent of those with graduate degrees declaring bankruptcy as reported by the Institute for Financial Literacy report released Tues.

There are many individuals without university degrees filing for bankruptcy still. This is the case for about 70 percent of filers. But the study showed that those with associates and bachelor's degrees also filed at a higher rate than in previous years. Individuals possessing only a high school education make up about a 3rd of all filings.

Leslie Linfield is the Institute for Financial Literacy creator. She said:

"There's these mythologies out there that if you go to college and you get a degree, you're going to do financially better. I think this data is starting to erode at this myth. ... The Great Recession has had a dramatic impact on the bankruptcy filings of American consumers across the economic spectrum -- including college-educated, high-income earners."

More than 50,000 surveyed

There were more than 50,000 debtors in courses for bankruptcy credit counseling or money management from 2006 to 2010. After the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, this study was done to follow bankruptcy statistics. In order to control those who were able to file bankruptcy, the BAPCPA was signed by President Bush.

Age, income and racial groups

"While less educated, low-income individuals continue to represent the typical bankruptcy filer," Linfield said, "this report underscores a sophisticated evolution of the profile of the American debtor that now extends to disparate age, income and ethnic groups."

In 2006, those between 35 and 44 accounted for much of the filings. It changed to be between ages 45 and 54 in 2010. This is a large risk, Linfield notes. "At 54," she asked, "do they really have enough time in front of them to start over?"

About 66 percent of filers made less than $60,000 a year.

There was an increase from 2.1 percent to 4.5 percent in Asian Americans, which more than doubled. Those Hispanic people who filed also had a rise. It went up to 8.7 percent from 6.5 percent. African-Americans had a significant decline in numbers, sinking from 15.4 percent in 2006 to 11.3 percent last year.

Career loss is the trigger

There has been a ton of career loss, which has caused much of the troubles to take place, according to Linfield. There were reasons listed by the customers in the survey. They blamed over-extended credit, reduction of income and job loss.

There was an increase in the quantity of bankruptcies filed in The United States last year. They went up 1.5 million, the New York Daily News reports.




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