According to a study published by America's central bank, husbands lose twice as much income when they divorce as their wives.
An analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that divorce is costly for both men and women: US couples who separated in the past year saw an average 12% decline in income compared to those who stayed together .
An analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that divorce is costly for both men and women.
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However, the researchers found a marked difference between the sexes, with men's incomes falling by an average of 17% and women's by 9%.
Guillaume Vandenbroucke, an economist at the Federal Reserve, said there is a clear «income penalty for divorce.» , especially among men,” adding that the differences are not due to spousal or child support payments, since they only measure wages and salaries.
He added: «This difference between men and women is most noticeable at age 30, when men lose about 40% of their income after divorce and women lose noticeably less.»
The study also found that for women, the worst age for financial separation is in the years leading up to retirement: Women who divorce on their 65th birthday see an average decrease in income of almost 60 %.
Mr Vandenbroucke said it was not clear why a divorce would affect a person's income as well as their well-being.
He added: “It is common to consider the cost impact of divorce. Divorces bring about new living arrangements for the affected parties and therefore changes in housing costs. Divorces also have implications for tax status, health care costs and child care. Divorce also impacts wealth because retirement accounts and other assets are often divided between the parties.
“However, the data is not about spending or wealth; they relate to income. Why do recently divorced workers earn less than others? One possibility is that these people are changing their work patterns: either they work fewer hours or work in different, lower-paying jobs.»
Mr Vandenbroucke said it was impossible to draw conclusions about whether why men's earnings are declining. was so noticeable after divorce.
However, Deborah Price, a gerontologist and professor at the University of Manchester, says income and social status probably play a larger role, especially among younger couples.