Seniors in Bankruptcy-Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy

Deborah Thorne, PhD is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Idaho, and Principle Investigator on the nationally-recognized Consumer Bankruptcy Project. Dr. Thorne’s research paper entitled “Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy: Fallout from Life in a Risk Society” found that the rate at which Americans age 65 and older are filing for bankruptcy has more than tripled since 1991. She outlined a number of factors that may contribute to this problem, including rising healthcare expenses and a lack of financial knowledge or discipline to properly save for retirement, since pensions have been replaced by 401k plans.