“When all is said and done, ending a marriage can be almost as destructive to your retirement savings as the Great Recession was, according to new findings from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.”
It is almost impossible to end a marriage and to leave retirement savings intact. Between the cost of legal fees and the division of assets and households with one income instead of two, the cost of divorce is high. As CNBC reports in “This move is almost as bad for your retirement savings as the Great Recession was,” divorce puts people’s retirements at risk and some folks have to work many more years as a result.
Current statistics show that approximately 40% of all marriages end in divorce. Researchers at Boston College behind the National Retirement Risk Index examined how likely individuals are to maintain their standard of living, once they retire. As of 2016, half of working-age households were reported to be at risk. Divorce pushes up a retirement risk for a person by 7 percentage points, while the 2008 financial crisis added 9 points.
Here are more reasons why divorce deals a tough blow to retirement:
- In addition to legal fees, divorce proceedings pull people away from work and can have an impact on their earnings abilities, especially women.
- Many divorces lead to the sale of the family home, which creates a major financial burden. If your marriage falls apart when the housing market does, the impact will be even worse.
- It’s more expensive to run two households, than it is to run one.
- Tax rates change when couples divorce.
Dividing up a 401(k) when only one spouse was working can be tricky. You’ll need a court order known as a QDRO (a domestic relations order) to divide the account. The nonparticipating spouse of a 401(k) can typically receive funds from their ex’s as cash and not have to pay a tax penalty for the early withdrawal. However, that money should be set aside for retirement. The money is often used to pay off debt or to fund the purchase of a new home. That means there is much less available for retirement.
Once the financial dust has settled, experts recommend reviewing both your retirement plan and estate plan. You’ll want to make changes on documents, including life insurance policies and any assets where your former spouse was listed. There may be court orders concerning retitling accounts. Failure to make changes can have disastrous consequences. Speak with your estate planning attorney, to make sure your estate plan matches your new marital status.
Reference: CNBC (June 28, 20918) This move is almost as bad for your retirement savings as the Great Recession was”
離婚對退休的影響
“根據波士頓學院退休研究中心的最新發現，結束婚姻對退休儲蓄幾乎和經濟衰退一樣具有破壞性。”
要結束婚姻並保持退休儲蓄不變幾乎是不可能。由於法律費用和離婚後資產分配和家庭少了一份收入，離婚的代價費用會很高。如同CNBC中討論 “This move is almost as bad for your retirement savings as the Great Recession was,”(對於退休儲蓄來說，這一舉措幾乎與大衰退一樣糟糕) 離婚使人們的退休處於危險之中，因此一些人離婚後必須工作多年才能退休。
目前的統計數據顯示，大約40％的婚姻以離婚告終。波士頓學院全國退休風險指數背後的研究人員研究了，退休後個人維持生活水平的可能性。在2016年，據報導有一半的工作年齡家庭處於危險之中。離婚將一個人的退休風險提高了7個百分點，而2008年的金融危機則增加了9個百分點。
以下是離婚對退休造成嚴重打擊的更多原因：
- 除了法律費用外，離婚訴訟還會使人們難以專心工作，並對他們的收入能力產生影響，尤其是女性。
- 許多離婚導致出售家庭住房，這造成了巨大的經濟負擔。如果你的婚姻破裂正處在房地產市場下滑時，其影響將更加嚴重。
- 負擔兩個家庭比負擔一個家庭更昂貴。
- 夫妻離婚時稅率會發生變化。
當只有一個配偶工作時劃分401（k）退休儲蓄賬戶可能會很棘手。您需要一個稱為QDRO的法院命令來劃分賬戶。401（k）的非參與配偶通常可以從他們的前配偶獲得帳戶裡的現金，而不必為提前退出而付出代價。但是，應該留這筆錢用於退休。很多人會用這筆錢來償還債務或購買新房，但這意味著可用來退休養老的錢便少了。
一旦財務搞定了，專家建議審查您的退休計劃和遺產計劃。您需要對文件進行更改，包括人壽保險單和有您前配偶名字的任何資產。你可能需要法院命令来改變帳戶名稱。未能做出改變可能會帶來災難性的後果。請與您的資產規劃律師聯繫，確保您的資產計劃符合您新的婚姻狀況。
參考: CNBC (June 28, 20918) This move is almost as bad for your retirement savings as the Great Recession was”