Higher Educated People Filing For Bankruptcy

By Cornelius Nunev


We've all learned that it pays to get an education. But perhaps it does not pay as well as it once did. The quantity of people with a college diploma filing for bankruptcy has increased in the last five years by 20 percent, as reported by a brand new study. The age and salary of filers has also increased.

College-educated, higher-income earners

The report, released Tuesday by the Institute for Financial Literacy, showed that the number of bankruptcy filers with a graduate diploma climbed from 11.2 percent in 2006 to 13.6 percent last year.

People without a college diploma make up 70 percent of all bankruptcy filers. People with all degrees were filing more often than they were the year before. People possessing only a high school education make up about a 3rd of all filings.

Leslie Linfield is the Institute for Financial Literacy founder. 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."

Done from 2006 to 2010

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

Considering various factors

"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, the filings were all around the same age. They were around 35 and 44. It changed to be between ages 45 and 54 last year. Linfield finds them particularly at risk. "At 54," she asked, "do they really have enough time in front of them to start over?"

The people made very little money too. In fact, less than $60,000 a year was what 66 percent made.

Asian Americans, whose numbers more than doubled, climbed from 2.1 percent to 4.5 percent. There was also an increase from 6.5 percent to 8.7 percent in Hispanic filers. A decrease from 15.4 percent in 2006 to 2010's 11.3 percent was shown for African-Americans. This shows a huge decline in numbers.

Something is to blame

There has been a ton of career loss, which has brought on most of the difficulties to take place, according to Linfield. The reasons cited by customers were job loss, reduction of income and over-extended credit.

The New York Daily News explained that the number of bankruptcies in America went up 1.5 million.




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