The Average age of a widow or widower

According to Census Canada, the average age of widowhood in Canada is just 56.  For men, the average age of becoming a widower is 65. What's more, a large percentage (43%) of Canadian seniors are single.  In the USA the average age of widowhood is 55, and 75 percent of women will be widowed by the age of 56. 

This is a scary statistic, as more boomers get closer and closer to retirement age, it becomes critical for women to prepare for the impending loss of their partner. And yet, boomers are not prepared for the loss of a spouse. If you do lose a spouse here is some ideas to help you cope and deal realistically with your situation.

Bills come due, even if someone has died, so pay those bills that you get following the death of your spouse. Let the government know your spouse has died so they can send the final tax bill to the executor.

Review your extended health insurance if you have it and examine and contact any life insurance companies you may have a policy with so they can start processing your claim. There may have deadlines, so deal with them quickly.

Don't be rushed into any decisions following the loss of your partner. What seems like a good idea could come back to haunt you after a few years. Find the time and energy to talk with your financial planner, if you do not have one, talk to the bank or close friends for a referral to a planner. 

Some spouses will take on the role of executor of your spouse's estate. If you take on this role, understand the responsibilities you have taken on by being the executor. You need time to process and grieve, leave the details of being the executor of the estate to another person. 

To protect yourself if you chose to be the executor you need to follow these formal steps closely, including the following:

• Get a Clearance Certificate from Revenue Canada. It will state that all taxes have been paid. While this isn't required it is strongly recommended.
• You have to also guard or secure against anticipated loss if you make a mistake so it is recommended that you ask the beneficiaries for an indemnification agreement. 
• Consult a legal representative concerning debt repayment.
• If you have the knowledge that the estate may not have enough money to pay all debts, don't wait to seek professional advice.

Boomer women need to prepare for being a widow, sooner rather than later according to Census Canada. 

If you have not done so, consider making all accounts jointly held. By having joint access to accounts, assets including your family home (if you own a home) are less likely to be walled off and subject to a lengthy probate process.

Ensure you are aware of all accounts, investments and debts. Keep account numbers and the contact information for your financial advisors and life insurance agents or company handy.

Widows are victims for clever salesmen, frauds, and sometimes, mistaken children. Don't let others convince you to do something or make a decision you are not comfortable with at the time.   There have been times where family members push sensitive buttons in order to influence choices, to try and take advantage of the situation. 

How to handle this?  Remove the temptation by referring discussions over money to your financial planner. They can handle any uncomfortable confrontations concerning money. 

Have you prepared a will, if not do it now? When you create your will, make sure both your will and your spouse's will leave no room for misunderstandings. The last thing your partner wants is for the estate to tear the family apart.



You will have a lot to worry about following the death of your partner; don't let money become one of the issues you have to deal with when your spouse passes. Talk to your partner about your financial situation today, because no matter what is going on today you never know what tomorrow might bring,

Windows frozen, now what?

On a cold winter morning, wife texts husband: "WINDOWS FROZEN, WON'T OPEN"

Husband texts back:
"POUR SOME LUKEWARM WATER OVER IT AND TAP GENTLY ALONG THE EDGES WITH A HAMMER"

Five minutes later wife texts husband: "COMPUTER REALLY SCREWED UP NOW"

Planning to retire ? Do not focus on money

Money is not everything when you are making the decision to retire. I am not thinking wealth is not necessary, it is. Making a decision to retire is more than just counting your pennies. Talk to financial advisor about your retirement and they will, I bet, concentrate on how much money do you have or how much should you save, to maintain the lifestyle you currently have today. 

If you talk to the experts or read them, you will come across many different rules of thumb, such as these:

Aim to save at least 1x your salary by 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60, and 10x by 67. 

The Multiply by 25 Rule estimates how much money you'll need in retirement by multiplying your desired annual income by 25. For example, if you want to withdraw $40,000 per year from your retirement portfolio, you need $1 million dollars in your retirement portfolio. ($40,000 x 25 equals $1 million.) If you want to withdraw $50,000 per year, you need $1.25 million. To withdraw $60,000 per year, you need $1.5 million.

Age rule: As you get older so you should invest more conservatively based on the “Age Rule”. This rule states that you should invest 100 minus your age in stocks. Since I am are age 72, I should have 28% in stocks and 72% in bonds.

These calculations do not, in Canada, include Canada Pension Plan Income or Old Age Security Income, which while not sizeable could amount to over $1100 a month for an individual or $2200 a month for a couple. 

In addition what they don't add, or if they do it is added as a parenthesis is: Factors that will impact your personal savings goal include the age you plan to retire and the lifestyle you hope to have in retirement and how long you think you will live.

We don't know how long we will live, but we do know what lifestyle we hope to have when we retire or do we. Retirement is probably the greatest life change you will ever undergo, make sure you prepare and are set both financially and emotionally, one without the other just won’t work. 

The most important aspect of your retirement that you need to plan for is your lifestyle. Life in retirement is about reinventing yourself, establishing who you are and what you love to do, and being positive.

We know there are three stages of retirement, so Take time out to think about what it is you really want to do as well as what you don't want to do, particularly in the first stage of retirement. Without creating a plan you could drift and things that you did not plan or want may happen. You do not want to waste time not doing the stuff you really do not want to do.

In retirement, it is important to fill your life with something that is purposeful.  Retirement gives you an opportunity to enjoy more freedom, but and I speak from experience, 24/7 fun can get a little tiresome. I believe we need more purpose in life than just leisure.

Do you believe in miracles?

Do you believe in miracles? For thousands of years, many of us believed in miracles, which were considered a surprising and welcome event that was not explainable by natural or scientific laws as we knew them. Accordingly, because we had no explanation of what happened, we considered the event the result of an intervention of a supreme agency. Those that believe in a supreme agency have different visions of what that agency is and how the agency interacts with humans. That difference in vision has resulted in many terrible actions between humans. Some who believe in one vision, attack those who have another vision of this supreme agency.

As our understanding of natural and scientific laws expanded, those events which we used to consider miracles are now seen in a new light. But because many of us believe in a supreme agency we continue to believe in the idea that miracles can and do happen. 

I believe that we are in control of how we react to the events in our lives and because we are, we create our own miracles. Because we are in control we are entitled to as many miracles in a day that we want. You could create as many miracles as breaths you take. You control the events in your life; you control how they unfold, you control the miracles that happen in your life and any miracles you don't use, you can carry them over. 

All you have to do to create the miracle is expect it, then you will create the miracle you need.