Study: College graduates driving increase in bankruptcy filings

The survey by the Institute for Financial Literacy, slated for release Tuesday, found that the percentage of debtors with a bachelor’s degree rose from 11.2 percent in 2006 to 13.6 percent in 2010. The group tracked similar but smaller increases in consumers with two-year associate and graduate degrees. Meanwhile, the percentage of debtors with a high school diploma or who did not finish college declined.

“We’re told that if you do go and get advanced education, you’re going to be almost guaranteed this economic success,” said Leslie Linfield, the group’s executive director. But the recession proved that “higher education was no guarantee that you weren’t going to be at risk.”…

Linfield said the recent increase in the number of bankruptcy filings is driven largely by wealthier, more-educated households. The percentage of debtors with bachelor’s degrees peaked in 2009 and then inched down in 2010. Those with graduate degrees jumped from 4.9 percent in 2006 to 6.7 percent last year. And the share earning more than $60,000 rose from 5.5 to 9.2 percent.