You and your husband have likely planned for your retirement together. However, unpleasant as it is to think about, statistically women are likely to outlive their husbands. So it’s important for women in particular to talk regularly and frankly with me about retirement, and how it might change if their personal circumstances change.
Here are a few issues to discuss:
How will my expenses change? It’s unlikely that expenses for a single person will be half of those for a couple. In fact, you should probably count on expenses to be about 80% of what they were as a couple.
Will I continue to receive my husband’s pension? That depends on what pension payment option you and your husband elected. Review your husband’s pension plan now to know what you will qualify for later.
What happens to my husband’s 401(k)? Employer sponsored 401(k) assets can be rolled over into an IRA. However, please note that this is often times a very difficult and costly thing to do. There is often a big discrepancy between what the IRS allows the beneficiary to do and what the employer allows. Please seek advice from someone well versed in IRA’s. Not all financial advisors are educated on this topic.
Will my Social Security benefits change? If you and your husband both collect Social Security, you will be entitled to receive whichever benefit is greater. But of course, one of the two payments will stop.
These are just some important questions to begin to answer and gives us somewhere to begin discussion. For greater peace of mind, now is the time to contact me to discuss your financial plan with your spouse.