“If you're part of a married couple, it's highly likely that one of you will become a widow or widower at some point.”
If it’s any comfort, there are now some 20 million widows and widowers in America, according to a study from Merrill Lynch and Age Wave that focuses on widowhood, as reported by CBS News’ Moneywatch in “A retirement planning must-do for married couples.” The study, “Widowhood: The Loss Couples Rarely Plan for—and Should” takes a detailed look at what happens, when the first spouse dies.
It should be noted that women are three times as likely as men to be the surviving spouse, since women historically tend to live longer. Widowers tend to marry younger women, leaving many older women to need to learn how to live as senior singles.
More than half of all of those surveyed who had lost a spouse, said they had not planned for it. More than three-quarters of married retirees said they would not be financially prepared for retirement, if their spouse passed away.
Losing a spouse is the hardest thing for married people, particularly if they have never been single. Some 75% of those who had lost a spouse, said it was the single hardest thing they’d ever had to deal with. Half of them experience a household decline in income of 50%—or more. Adjusting to that loss of income is a big concern.
When the first spouse passes, the surviving spouses report that they were overwhelmed with paperwork and didn’t know how to begin.
You can plan for this unpleasant eventuality, and you should. Just as having an estate plan in place will help loved ones, planning for one of you to become widowed will help the other.
What should couples do in advance?
- Know what all your assets and accounts are and how to access all accounts.
- Make sure both names are on all accounts and deeds.
- Be able to access cash.
- Keep credit card debt separate
- Establish an estate plan that includes a living trust, pour-over wills, advance healthcare directives, durable powers of attorney, and personal care plans.
- Have an honest discussion whether the estate plan should have provisions that protect the deceased spouse’s assets if the surviving spouse remarries or whether the estate plan should have provisions that protect the surviving spouse’s assets from creditors, lawsuits and nursing homes.
Here’s some advice from the surviving spouses:
- Avoid making big decisions, until at least a year has passed.
- Find all important documents and pay bills on time.
- Notify banks, financial advisors and employers.
- Reevaluate your retirement strategy, following a financial audit of your new situation.
- Update your estate plan and check all beneficiary designations.
Losing a spouse is a difficult and painful experience. However, a solid estate plan would go a long way toward reestablishing balance in your life.
Reference: CBS Moneywatch (Sep. 12, 2018) “A retirement planning must-do for married couples”
“如果你是已婚夫婦，你很可能會在某些時候成為寡婦或鰥夫。”
如果是安慰的話，美國現在有大約2000萬寡婦和鰥夫，據美國哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞報導稱，美林證券和Age Wave專注於守寡的研究報告顯示“A retirement planning must-do for married couples”(為已婚夫婦準備的退休計劃) 這項研究“喪偶：夫婦很少會計劃 - 但應該”當第一個配偶去世時會發生什麼。
應該指出的是，女性成為倖存配偶的可能性是男性的三倍，因為女性在歷史上往往壽命更長。鰥夫傾向與較年輕女性結婚，讓許多年長女性需要學習如何像老年單身女性一樣生活。
超過一半的受訪者失去了配偶，他們表示在喪偶前沒有計劃。超過四分之三的已婚退休人員表示，如果他們的配偶去世，他們將無法為退休做好經濟準備。
失去配偶對於已婚人士來說是最艱難的事情，特別是如果他們從未單身過。大約75％的失去配偶的人說，這是他們曾經遇到的最艱難的事情。其中一半人的家庭收入下降了50％或更多。調整收入損失是一個很大的問題。
當第一個配偶過世時，倖存的配偶報告說他們有很多文書工作，並且不知道如何開始。
你能夠甚至應該為這個不快的必然作出計劃。正如有一個資產計劃將幫助親人，計劃你們中的一個成為寡婦或鰥夫將幫助另一個。
夫妻應該提前做些什麼？
- 了解您的所有資產和帳戶是什麼以及如何登入所有帳戶。
- 確保所有帳戶和契約都有夫婦的名字。
- 能夠運用現金。
- 保持信用卡債務分開
- 制定資產計劃，包括生前信託，遺囑，預先醫療保健指令，持久授權書和個人護理計劃。
- 如果還活著的配偶會再婚，請誠實地討論資產計劃是否應該有保護已故配偶資產的條款，或者資產計劃是否應該有保護在生配偶的資產免受債權人，訴訟和養老院的追討。
以下是倖存配偶的一些建議：
- 至少一年過去之前，避免做出重大決定。
- 要按時找到所有重要文件並支付賬單。
- 通知銀行，財務顧問和雇主。
- 在對您的新情況進行財務審計之後，重新評估您的退休計劃。
- 更新您的資產計劃並檢查所有受益人名稱。
失去配偶是一種艱難而痛苦的經歷。然而，一個有用的資產計劃將大大有助於重建你生活中的平衡。
參考: CBS Moneywatch (Sep. 12, 2018)“A retirement planning must-do for married couples”
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