Levels of personal insolvency are starting to fall after a steady upward trend over the last decade, according to The Insolvency Service.

In 2009 personal insolvency numbers were the highest for 20 years. In 2010, despite a slight drop, the number of people entering into formal insolvency procedures remained relatively high, which the Insolvency Service says shows that more needs to be done to encourage people to manage their money better, and where possible, to avoid insolvency.

Britain’s pensioners are shown to be the fastest growing group of bankrupt individuals in the UK. Although levels of bankruptcy among men and women aged over-65 are the lowest in the UK, the numbers of bankrupt individuals in this age group have increased six times in a decade and at a 50% faster rate than for other age groups.

Men still make up the majority of bankrupts (60% in 2009) but the proportion of women bankrupts is growing (from 29% in 2000, to 40% in 2009).

The average age of a bankrupt individual in the UK is 41, which is close to the average age of the population (39.5 years).

Among women aged over-65, the rate of bankruptcy has grown even more sharply, over ten times between 2000 and 2009 and in London it is 43 times higher.

Since they started in April 2009 to the end of September 2010, 30,838 people have taken out Debt Relief Orders, to free them from unmanageable debt and support them in making a fresh financial start.

The average age of a person with a Debt Relief Order between April-December 2009 is 40 years-old, which is comparable to that of a bankrupt for the same period (41 years-old).

To encourage more people to deal with their debt, The Insolvency Service is running a week-long (3-8 January) ‘Dealing with your debt ‘ campaign, supported by charity sector partners, Citizens’ Advice, the Consumer Credit Counselling Service and the Money Advice Trust.

Stephen Speed, chief executive of The Insolvency Service, said: “Although personal insolvency levels are no longer rising