FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FOR HOUSEWIVES HOW TO
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FOR HOUSEWIVES FULL
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FOR HOUSEWIVES PLUS

“When a person divorces and remarries, old beneficiaries stay in place until they are changed by the account owner,” Meredith says. Make a list of every place you have ever worked and contributed to employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Why so? “The surviving spouse collects a higher lifetime benefit based on the primary earner’s benefit,” she says.Īlso consider, if you have traditional defined benefit pension plan, choosing the joint-and-survivor annuity instead of the single life annuity.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FOR HOUSEWIVES FULL

If you’re the higher earner, consider delaying Social Security until at least full retirement age (FRA) or better yet until age 70, if there’s a good chance that your spouse will outlive you, says Betty Meredith, president of the International Retirement Resource Center.

If, after running your what-if scenarios, there’s a shortfall, consider increasing your savings, trimming your expenses, investigating a reverse mortgage and/or downsizing, and buying life insurance.

Also note that the surviving spouse may have less to live on if he or she has to spend down assets to take care of the spouse that passes away, says Levering. Note that expenses don’t necessarily decrease by half after one spouse passes away, says Levering. Run what-if scenariosĭetermine whether your financial plan will provide enough lifetime income to the surviving spouse. “I know a lot of people don’t want to talk about their finances with their children but it is important that someone know what to do if necessary,” she says. Levering also suggests sharing financial information and contacts with children, not just their attorneys.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FOR HOUSEWIVES PLUS

If you avoid these conversations, Rehl says, “a surviving spouse may be in a double whammy - hit with grief and emotions of widowhood plus not having many clues about their money situation.”

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FOR HOUSEWIVES HOW TO

“In particular, it is very important that they know what benefits might be available from employment-based plans - pension, 401(k), life insurance, and medical for example - and how to contact the appropriate human resource people to access any benefits that may be due.” “First and foremost, spouses - especially women - need to know about the household’s finances, including where all accounts are held,” says Cindy Levering, a retired pension actuary and volunteer for the Society of Actuaries. “Start by saying, ‘Honey, because I love you so much, I want us to talk about some important money issues together-that are really important to know about for the time one day when one of us is gone.’” Talking about money matters together is a great gift couples can give each other, says Kathleen Rehl, author of Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows. So, what can you and your spouse do to manage the risks associated with becoming a widow or widower? Set aside time to talk But, on average, women are widowed more often than men. To be sure, it’s difficult to predict which spouse will live longer in individual cases, according to the SOA. ►Inability to cope with a spouse’s death or terminal illness contributes to high rates of depression and suicide among the elderly. ►The surviving spouse may not be able or willing to manage the family’s finances. ►The death of a disabled person’s caregiver spouse may bring financial problems at a very difficult time. ►Some income may stop at the death of a spouse or former spouse. And that risk comes with some dramatic consequences, according to a Society of Actuaries report, 'Managing Post-Retirement Risks: A Guide to Retirement Planning.'Īccording to that report, the death of a spouse is often accompanied by a decline in economic status:

It’s the risk of becoming a widow or widower. Watch Video: People on Social Security will see their checks go up in 2018Īmong the risks that married couples face in retirement, this one is unavoidable.

Financial management for housewives