Divorce Makes Men Richer

Marriage And Beyond

oi-Staff

By Staff

Friday, January 30, 2009, 12:34

Divorce might not be such a bad thing after all, at least for the men. The latest research revealed that while men, especially fathers, grew richer after divorce, it was not the same for women.

Research carried out by Professor Stephen Jenkins, a director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and chair of the Council of the International Association for Research on Income and Wealth, found that, dad's available income increases by 25 percent after separation from his wife.

The survey was conducted by Marital Splits and Income Changes over the Longer Term, first of its kind took a look at the varying wealth levels in Britain after the marriage breakdown. The study further revealed that an average women's income falls by more than a fifth and remains low for quite some time.

"The differences between the sexes are stark," the Guardian quoted him, as saying."But this is not so much a gender thing as a parent thing. The key differences are not between men and women, but between fathers and mothers," he added.

The study was concluded after the data was collected from 14 different British Household Panel Surveys over 1991 to 2004 with the findings from five European surveys.

"There are only two factors that have an impact on women's financial position, post relationship breakdown," said Jenkins. "The percentage change in income is less if they have worked beforehand and continue working afterwards. The impact is also reduced if they start working after the relationship breakdown. There is also a potential positive impact if she remarries," he added,

However, the situation can be reversed if the divorced man has more children with a new partner and at the same time has to maintain his children from his ex-wife. The level of paying can be leveled if the terms of the man and women are made more alike after separation. AGENCIES