The financial impact of divorce can last for decades and carry on into older age, according to new research.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies has found divorced people aged over 55 had less disposable income and fewer assets than their married counterparts.

The study also said men end up worse off, but this is in contrast to the views of divorce experts, who say older women are the ones who are missing out financially.

Annie Greenberg had to dramatically adjust her lifestyle since getting divorced nearly 10 years ago.

"It's not the worst thing in the world, you just don't do what you were used to doing for 20 years," Ms Greenberg said.

The 62-year-old has downgraded homes several times, and said she is only just getting back on her feet.

She not only lost out on assets, but years of marriage and child-raising meant she lost out on an income and super as well.

"I live in a $1 million apartment, he lives in a multi-million dollar house," she said.

"I didn't get access to his super and I didn't have much. I just moved and sold my apartment, and put extra money into super for myself."

People who went through a divorce in their 30s or 40s are still feeling the financial pain well into their 60s and 70s, according to new research from the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

It found that divorced Australians aged between 55 and 74 had less household disposable income and fewer assets than their married peers.

"It is not surprising when you think that people who have divorced have had to split up their assets and taken a hit in terms of how they engaged in the employment market over the 16-year period we have measured here," said Anne Hollands, the director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Anne Hollands, the director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

The study examined the financial consequences of divorce for up to 3,000 older Australians between 2001 and 2016, using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Surveys.

It found that during this period, there had been a 10 per cent increase in divorce.

"So those people who have stayed married and hang onto their assets have continued to grow the value of those assets, and also been able to grow the value of their income, relatively," Ms Hollands said.

The research also found that men were slightly worse off than women when it came to household disposable income.

But the Institute's study is yet to identify why that is.

Who really ends up with less after divorce?

Victoria Whitelaw, a barrister who works in the family law system, said in her experience, men more easily recover financially from divorce because they have more earning power.

"It was generally understood years and years ago that men lost more, but I think reality is that women since then — older women — have not had the input to super," Ms Whitelaw said.

Victoria Whitelaw, a barrister who works in the family law system ( Supplied )

She encourages clients to use mediation instead of the more expensive family court system.

"This is something that people should be encouraged to mediate and work out for themselves [to] keep the family's money within the family," she said.

"Once you get to court … you're not going to hang onto your money," Ms Whitelaw said.

Charlie Viola, a wealth manager who works with divorced clients, said he also found women to be worse off.

That is because women generally hold onto the family home.

"The person who doesn't get the family home ends up with more liquid assets and more super assets," Mr Viola said.

"The implications over time is that you can't eat a house — it won't generate revenue, and it will curtail your ability to generate other revenue.

"Especially if the person in the home was the non-working spouse or lower income earner."

He also points out the issue of women missing out in super is more stark after divorce.

However, there is some good news — the study found that divorced people who remarried were able to recover some of their lost finances.