{"id":5352,"date":"2016-03-18T06:56:46","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T10:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=5352"},"modified":"2016-03-18T06:57:36","modified_gmt":"2016-03-18T10:57:36","slug":"financial-guidance-for-widows-in-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=5352","title":{"rendered":"Financial Guidance for Widows In Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"the-new-york-times<\/a>\u201cMy husband and I had decided life was too short,\u201d recalled Ginny McKinney, \u201cso we went shopping to buy a travel trailer to take us into an early retirement.\u201d That was three years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile standing in the fourth trailer that we were considering, he had a heart attack and died,\u201d she said. Dan McKinney was 62.<\/p>\n

Ms. McKinney was 59 and retired from her work as a medical assistant, although she was taking on occasional work to make a little extra money. Her husband was getting ready to retire from his post as a restaurant manager at the Ritz Carlton Club at the Aspen Highlands Ski Resort in Colorado.<\/p>\n

Like Ms. McKinney, one-third of the women who become widows are under age 65, according to data from the Women\u2019s Institute for a Secure Retirement<\/a>, known as Wiser, a nonprofit organization dedicated to women\u2019s financial education and advocacy. The Census Bureau <\/a>reported in 2011 that the median age of widowhood was 59.4 for a first marriage and 60.3 for a second marriage.<\/p>\n

No one is ever prepared for such an event. But for many women, the road to financial hardship begins after their husbands die. Nearly a third of single women over age 75 are living in poverty, according to Wiser\u2019s research.<\/p>\n

READ COLUMN ON THE NEW YORK TIMES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms. McKinney is not one of them. The couple had some savings, and she was the recipient of his $150,000 life insurance policy. Nonetheless, the sudden loss turned her world upside down. \u201cHe carried my heart on a velvet pillow, and I was crushed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

One of her first moves after the funeral was to connect with a certified financial planner, Danielle Howard of Wealth by Design <\/a>in Basalt, Colo., who made it clear from the start that Ms. McKinney needed to share responsibility for her finances and not leave everything to her adviser.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome women are heads of households and managing it all,\u201d Ms. Howard said, \u201cbut probably 75 percent of women I\u2019ve worked with just go, \u2018I am not good at math.\u2019 It is not a matter of being good with math, I tell them. You can use a calculator. You just need to be comfortable talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Howard urged her client to increase her financial literacy. \u201cThat education is vital to getting your feet back on the ground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Like most widows, Ms. McKinney is living on a lot less than before her spouse died. \u201cThe big-picture look at widows is that there\u2019s almost always a loss of income,\u201d said Cindy Hounsell, the founder and president of Wiser. Women also generally live longer than men, making it even more important that they plan their finances carefully.<\/p>\n

\"5666_1094156597261276_1568575373771718197_n\"<\/a>
Ginny McKinney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For reasons she still doesn\u2019t fully understand, two weeks after her husband\u2019s sudden death, Ms. McKinney headed back to the travel trailer dealership to pursue the dream she had with her spouse. She bought a 15-foot Sportsmen Classic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took off for three months, driving a circle around Colorado,\u201d she said. \u201cI went to places in the wilderness and on the top of mountains, where I could stand outside and scream at the sky, and scream at God for taking my man. And scream at him for leaving me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also joined the Sisters on the Fly<\/a>, a women\u2019s empowerment adventure group. \u201cThe group made me feel I wasn\u2019t a victim,\u201d she said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t the only one who had gone through this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since her husband\u2019s death, Ms. McKinney has put tens of thousands of miles on her truck and trailer. \u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of driving, but I haven\u2019t done anything exorbitant,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t go around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, widows need to make their initial financial moves cautiously. \u201cThere\u2019s a sense of urgency to do something right after you lose a spouse, but I caution widows to recognize the psychological trauma and don\u2019t do anything hastily,\u201d said Eleanor Blayney, author of \u201cWomen\u2019s Worth: Finding Your Financial Confidence\u201d and consumer advocate of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards<\/a>. \u201cWidows, in particular, have to be very careful about being taken advantage of by people who may or may not have their best interests at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

One stumbling block for many widows is knowing where the money is. That often requires some sleuthing to locate savings accounts, brokerage accounts and retirement plans \u2014 and identifying the proper online passwords. \u201cThe first step to piecing things together,\u201d Ms. Blayney said, \u201cis digging out your joint tax returns for the past five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn ounce of prevention is everything,\u201d Ms. Blayney added. \u201cAnticipating widowhood is tough, but the more financial information a woman can gather in advance of the loss of a spouse, the smoother it will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s easier said than done \u2014 even when the death is not sudden. Five years ago, Joyce McCue, now 63, and her husband of 30 years, Richard, moved to McLean, Va., from Memphis for his job as vice president for Hilton International. Six months later, he learned he had throat cancer. He died a year after their move at the age of 55.<\/p>\n

Her spouse had a $2.5 million life insurance policy. But when it came to what to do with it and other family investments, she was at a loss. \u201cI was always totally bored when we went to our financial planner,\u201d Mrs. McCue said. \u201cI controlled the day-to-day finances. I paid the bills. I balanced the checkbooks. But he did the big-picture stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

She did have one thing in her favor: She knew how to control her spending. \u201cRichard and I always teased each other,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause my motto was always \u2018Do we need that?\u2019 and his motto was \u2018Let\u2019s get two.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

She hired a financial adviser, Eileen O\u2019 Connor, co-founder of Hemington Wealth Management<\/a> in McLean. \u201cIt was quite intimidating,\u201d Mrs. McCue said. \u201cI felt like I was asking questions a kid in high school would.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, like Ms. McKinney, she joined a women\u2019s support group. \u201cWidows are able to share and help each other with the challenges they\u2019re facing and resources,\u201d Ms. O\u2019Connor said. \u201cWhile I\u2019d like to think I\u2019m helpful to my widowed clients, I think they find as much support, or more, from peers that are going through the same ordeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most financial planners suggest that widows refrain from investing or spending any lump sum insurance or pension payout for at least six months and ideally a year. Some widows, however, overspend early after the death of a spouse.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one mistake Ms. McKinney made. \u201cIf I had it to go over again, I would not take that life insurance in one lump sum,\u201d she said. \u201cI would have had it divvied out. You\u2019re not thinking that first year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among other things, she gave some large gifts to her adult children. \u201cSomehow it felt like it might soften things, ease the pain \u2014 however irrational it is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

An even more important decision is where to live. \u201cThat\u2019s an emotional one because the family home is often the locus of the marriage,\u201d Ms. Blayney said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a financial decision; it is a very emotional decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. McKinney waited a year to sell the couple\u2019s 1,700-square-foot home in New Castle, Colo., which sold for $260,000. \u201cAfter I came back from my trip, I never moved back in,\u201d she said. \u201cI realized I was living in my camper on the front curb and using my house as a really expensive laundromat. I didn\u2019t love the house anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

After paying off the mortgage and upgrading to a 250-square-foot travel trailer, she had $63,000 left. \u201cFor now, I draw from that for living expenses,\u201d she said, \u201cso I don\u2019t touch my retirement savings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Mrs. McCue, Ms. McKinney found new life through sharing with others, writing a blog<\/a> on Facebook for widows and forming fresh bonds with the women she met through Sisters on the Fly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a hoot,\u201d she said. \u201cI needed to have something joyful to look forward to and there they were.\u201d<\/p>\n

By KERRY HANNON<\/a><\/p>\n

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