The latest figures, for 2009, reveal that more than 11,500 over-60s were granted a divorce – up 4 per cent in two years. This contrasts with a fall in the divorce rate for all age groups of more than 11 per cent.
Ros Altmann, director general of the over-50s group Saga, said: ‘This is more proof that life is really changing for the over-60s and for many it’s the start of the next phase of their lives, not the end of their life as people in the past were often led to expect.
‘We are really witnessing a major social revolution, with older generations no longer behaving in the traditional manner.
'They are not "old"! They can do many or most of the things that they could do in their earlier years, going on great holidays in the Himalayas, trekking through Borneo, visiting far-flung wild destinations or suddenly taking up sports that they never had a chance to try when they were younger.
‘The baby boomers are redefining life at older ages. That includes re-evaluating their relationships and deciding to start again. They realise there is still time for new horizons and new perspectives. However, it can be very difficult for children to see their older parents splitting up and it is a worry when family units break up.
‘I’ve had letters from older divorcees who were bewildered by what had suddenly happened and had experienced terrible loneliness' - Esther Rantzen
‘Nevertheless, if people do end up much happier than before, it can give both of them a whole new lease of life'.
TV presenter and journalist Esther Rantzen said she had been contacted by people who had divorced late in life and suffered terrible loneliness. ‘In some cases, divorce over 60 is by people who have stayed together for the sake for their children and when they leave and realise they are not happy and decide to split and get on with independent living. In these cases it’s generally OK.'
‘But there are also cases when one partner desperately wanted to stay married end up unexpectedly on their own at a very vulnerable time in their lives. I’ve had letters from older divorcees who were bewildered by what had suddenly happened and had experienced terrible loneliness. They feel they have been left high and dry in circumstances they had never anticipated and are very unhappy. It is a real tragedy'.
The figures, released following a parliamentary question, revealed that in 2007 11,040 people over 60 divorced. By 2009, this had risen to 11,507.
More men than women over 60 were divorced, reflecting the fact that husbands are usually older than their wives. Among the male over-60s age group, the divorce rate rose by 3 per cent between 2007 and 2009 but among the female over 60s it soared by 6 per cent.
Despite older women showing a bigger increase, overall there were still more men than women getting divorced. With more older men and women returning to the dating scene, many fail to follow the recommendation to use condoms because the risk of an unwanted pregnancy is gone.
This has led to increases in sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhoea, chlamydia, genital warts, genital herpes and syphilis.
The increase in break-ups among pensioners is in stark contrast to other age groups. Overall, the divorce rate is down. In 2007, 256,262 people – that is 128,131 couples – divorced. In two years this went down to 227,898 – a fall of just over 11 per cent. While the divorce rate went up 4.2 per cent among the over-60s, it declined by 9.7 per cent among those in their 50s, 9.4 per cent in the 40s, 15.5 per cent in the 30s and 11.4 per cent between 18 and 30. The 2009 figures show that 34.3 per cent of all divorces happen to those in their 40s, compared with 33.6 per cent among the 30s age group. Just 5 per cent of divorces are among the over-60s.
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