The number of over-sixties getting divorced has reached a record high, with thousands of older couples refusing to contemplate years of retirement in an unhappy marriage.

While official figures for 2007 showed that the overall divorce rate falling and couples of almost every age more determined to stay together, the oversixties are splitting up in ever greater numbers.

There were 13,678 divorces among the oversixties last year compared with 12,636 in 2006 and 9,052 in 1997. This was the only age group where the divorce rate rose among both men and women.

The “silver-haired divorce” is an international phenomenon. According to the US Bureau of the Census, the number of divorced senior citizens in the US has risen by more than a third over the past decade to just under 2.2 million.

Times Archive, 1981: His or hers? How the law looks at it

The law is vague about the rights and duties of married couples

Related Links

• Today's brides and grooms must really mean it

• Tory treasurer and wife split after 25 years

• 'I thought Malcolm and I would grow old together'

Marilyn Stowe, divorce lawyer for Stowe Family Law, said: “People now have more energy in their later years and realise there is nothing left in their marriage once they have had their career and the children have left home.”

The overall divorce rate fell to its lowest rate for 26 years, apparently a result of couples waiting until they are older, wiser and know each other better before tying the knot.

The divorce rate in England and Wales fell to 11.9 per 1,000 married people in 2007 from 12.2 per 1,000 in 2006. This was the third consecutive fall and brought the divorce rate back down to the 1981 level.

The number of divorces also fell to 128,534, a drop of 3 per cent on 2006 and the lowest number since 1976.

Most divorces still take place among younger people, suggesting that if you get through the first few years of married life the chances of staying together increase. For the sixth consecutive year, men and women in their late twenties had the highest divorce rate of all five age groups at 26.8 per 1,000.

Experts on relationships say they think it is more significant that more couples are choosing to marry in their thirties when they are more realistic about the ups and downs of relationships and better able to cope with problems when they arise.

Since 1961 the average age of marriage has increased by more than five years, to 30 for men and 28 for women. “It may be a bit early to talk about a new long-term trend in the divorce rate, but certainly the fact that people are getting married later is a key reason for this fall,” said Jenny North, head of policy at Relate, the relationship support charity.

“If you marry young, you are more likely to break up. You do a lot of changing in your twenties and that can put marriage under strain, and people in their twenties often lack the maturity to cope with problems. Being a bit older, a bit more mature and a bit better off, which most people are in their thirties, all helps in a marriage.”

She cast doubt on suggestions by property experts that the credit crunch, rather than greater commitment, was behind the falling divorce rate, with unhappy couples unable to afford divorce.

Lucian Cook, of Savills Research, said that high house prices led to a rise in the number of divorces, and vice versa. “As house prices rise, home-owners feel wealthier and our supposition is that they also feel able to afford to get divorced,” he said. “We forecast that the falls in property prices, unwelcome for the majority, will result in fewer divorces.”

The figures also showed the numbers of children caught up in their parents’ divorces. A total of 117,193 children aged under 16 were affected by divorce in 2007, nearly two thirds of whom were under 11 years old, and a fifth of the total being under 5.

The fall in the divorce rate calls into question whether the Conservative pledge to restore tax breaks for the married would be a good use of public funds. The Government has been accused of failing to support marriage with its tax credit system, which favours lone parents. Perhaps politicians can do little to influence such matters.

The Office for National Statistics figures also show the number of dissolutions of same-sex civil partnerships, introduced at the end of 2005. Forty-two were granted last year, 14 to male couples and 28 to female couples.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• 6 reasons not to give gifts this Christmas
• Remembrance Day: All the lonely heroes