Financial Security for the Surviving Spouse in Retirement: Ensuring Stability After the Loss of a Partner
Losing a life partner is one of the hardest moments in a person's life. Unfortunately, one person in every relationship will be faced with this difficult reality. Speaking personally, my number one objective, if I were to pass away, is to make sure money is the last thing my wife needs to worry about. ...not only during the grieving process but for years (and maybe decades) to come. I'm sure I share this sentiment with many of you. However, because of the lack of real retirement planning in our industry, I find many retirees don't have a real answer for what happens to their plan if one spouse passes away earlier or later in than was originally estimated. Many focus on the loss of income from Social Security and pensions. This makes sense. Given the situation, the potential loss of income can be substantial. However, there is a lot more at play here... The surviving spouse will face numerous unexpected tax hurdles. They will see certain expenses rise bot...