Young women are now more likely than men to see their finances deteriorate to such an extent that they fall into personal insolvency, according to some new figures. Vicky Shaw asks why

Women still face battles in many areas of life to gain an equal footing to men, but there's one area where the younger female sex has just been shown to be surpassing the male of the species.

But this isn't particularly a cause for celebration. Some new official figures have highlighted a trend for women aged between 18 and 34 years old being more likely to fall into personal insolvency than men.

The data, released by the Insolvency Service and covering England and Wales, show that women aged between 18 and 24 were almost twice as likely as men in the same age group in 2013 to have seen their financial situation get so bad that they were tipped over the edge into insolvency.

Once both sexes reach the age of 35, the pattern is reversed, and men are more likely to become insolvent.

Despite the tough financial climate, personal insolvency rates have generally been on a downward path in recent years.

But within this trend, the numbers have been falling faster for men than for women.

Overall, men are still more likely than women to go insolvent, but only by a whisker, these new figures show.

So why is the gap between men and women narrowing when it comes to insolvency?

Well, celebrity culture, more relaxed attitudes to debt and changes to women's working lives are among the various suggestions that have been put forward.

Louise Brittain, a council member for insolvency trade body R3 and a partner at Wilkins Kennedy chartered accountants, says the figures are a reflection of how society in general has changed in recent years.

She says women falling into insolvency often have lower amounts of debt, associated with taking out credit, which they are unable to pay off.

Brittain says: "Social media and 'celebrity culture' mean young people, and young women in particular, have to deal with added scrutiny about the way they look, the clubs they go to, or the restaurants they eat in. For some, it's a recipe for spending beyond their means.

"This won't be the case for all young women who run into financial trouble, of course.

"Young women are still more likely than their male counterparts to be in part-time or lower paid work, resulting in tighter budgets."

Attitudes towards money have changed for the younger generation, with the idea of being in debt not as "alien or scary as it once might have been", she says.

Ms Brittain says students "will leave university with tens of thousands of pounds worth of student debt to their name, so there's not the stigma of getting into debt that there once was".

Changes to society are also placing a strain on the older generations who are supporting the young for longer, Brittain adds.

She explains: "We are living longer than we used to, we're working longer, buying our houses later, saving less, supporting our kids for longer.

"The whole spending timeline has changed and it will take some time to adjust."

Brittain also believes recent trends are likely to continue in the years to come.

She says: "Partly this is the fallout of the changing gender roles in society over the past few decades.

"In business, men have typically been more likely to take risks and have therefore been likelier to enter an insolvency procedure.

"As we see increasing numbers of female entrepreneurs, we may see more women entering insolvency in the higher age groups."

WHAT... WOULD YOUNG PEOPLE DO WITH A £20,000 WINDFALL?

Well, according to new research the answer is more likely to have something to do with getting on the property ladder rather than getting married.

HSBC asked 1,000 18 to 34-year-olds from across the UK what they would do with a £20,000 windfall.

Nearly one third (28 per cent) of them said they would spend the money on a deposit for a house, while only one per cent would shell out the entire sum on their nuptials and one per cent would spend the full amount on a baby.

Nearly half (47 per cent) of those surveyed would look to cut the cost of their wedding in favour of putting it towards a house deposit, while more than a quarter (26 per cent) would ask guests for cash instead of a traditional wedding gift to put towards a house.

The most popular ways found of cutting wedding costs were to reduce guest numbers, choose a cheaper reception venue and to slash the budget for the honeymoon.

POUNDNOTES

Financial dictionary: Equitable Life Payment Scheme

The scheme was set up by the Government to make payments to Equitable Life policyholders who suffered financial losses.

A pot of £1.5bn has been put aside to compensate policyholders, and payments started in June 2011.

The most recent figures show that some 877,414 policyholders have been paid out, although there are still around 160,000 people who are due a payment but the compensation scheme has not yet been able to trace them or validate their address.

The compensation scheme is encouraging any policyholders who believe themselves to be eligible to call it on 0300 0200 150.

PENSION SAVERS WARNED NOT TO FALL FOR SCAMS

People saving for their retirement are being warned to beware of cold calls, texts or website offers claiming to help them cash in their pot, as the total known amount paid into pension scams now stands at £495m.

These scams often involve unsolicited "spam" text messages, transfers overseas and phrases like "legal loophole" or "government endorsement", according to the Pensions Regulator.

The body, which oversees work-based pension schemes in the UK, said the amount of money lost due to the problem was likely to be "substantially higher" than £495m, as not all activity was reported.

The Pensions Regulator's executive director responsible for the organisation's work to frustrate pension scams, Andrew Warwick-Thompson says: "We have seen victims lose their entire pension savings by signing up to these offers."

'STOP SNEAKY FEES' CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED

Many consumers believe that firms offering financial products such as mortgages, bank accounts and credit cards use separate fees or charges to "trick" them into thinking the cost is lower than it really is, according to research by Which?

Two-thirds (68 per cent) of more than 2,000 people surveyed by the consumer group who have paid a charge for a financial service or product in the last year agree that companies make costs more complicated to cause confusion and only one in five (19 per cent) think charges are representative of firms' actual costs.

Which? has launched a "stop sneaky fees and charges" campaign, calling for all financial fees and charges, including those on insurance policies, mortgages, bank accounts and credit cards, to be shown upfront so that people can shop around more easily and compare overall costs.

Hugh Savill, the Association of British Insurers' (ABI) director of regulation, says: "Insurers are not interested in hiding any charges from their customers and follow regulatory requirements so that any additional charges are clearly set out."

CHILDREN FEELING THE PINCH AS POCKET MONEY SUMS FALL

The amount of weekly pocket money parents are giving their children has fallen by 15 pence typically over the past year.

The latest findings of Halifax's Annual Pocket Money Survey indicate that the average amount paid to children fell from a six-year high of £6.50 a week last year to £6.35 in 2014.

Almost half (48 per cent) of more than 1,000 children aged between eight and 15-years-old surveyed feel they receive the "right amount" of pocket money.

But two-fifths (43 per cent) think they should get more and a quarter (25 per cent) believe their friends have more money.

HIGH FIVE SAVERS

:: Phone/Website Rate Account Period Deposit Interest Paid

Secure Trust Bank www.securetrustbank.com 3.52%(F) FixedRate 30.06.21(B) £1,000 Yly

Vanquis Bank www.highyieldaccount.co.uk 3.25%(F) High Yield 5YrBnd(W) £1,000 Yly

Shawbrook Bank www.shawbrook.co.uk 3.20%(F) Fixed Rate Bond 15 5YrBnd(K) £5,000 Yly

Aldermore 0845 604 2678 3.10%(F) Fixed Rate 5YrBnd(K) £1,000 Yly

Coventry BS Via branch 2.00% Branch Instant ISA Instant £1 Yly

TOP FIVE MORTGAGE RATES

:: Phone No Rate Period Max% Adv Fee Incentive

Norwich&Peterborough BS 0845 300 2522 2.09%F For 2Yrs 65% £345 Yes

Norwich&Peterborough BS 0845 300 2522 3.54%F For2Yrs 90% £195 Yes

Coventry BS 0845 766 5522 3.15%F to 30.9.19 65% £999 Yes

Yorkshire BS 0845 120 0874 4.29%F to 31.10.19 90% £975 Yes

Post Office 0800 077 8033 4.95%F to 31.8.16 95% - Yes

Code:

* - Introductory rate for a limited period F - Fixed H - Operated by internet or telephone K - Operated by internet, telephone or post B - Operated by post or telephone W - Operated by internet P - Operated by post D - Discounted rate V - Variable rate

:: Source: Moneyfacts moneyfacts.co.uk. 01603 476 476 (All rates subject to change without notice)

ends