Are you widowed? Here is some advice on retirement planning

70% of recent widows fire their current financial advisers.  Kimberly Foss has some advice on how to keep widows as clients as well as advice for widows on how to cope. Her full article is here.  Everyone wants advisors who understand their concerns and goals. Although many advisors think they have a good relationship with a couple, keep in mind that the widow’s perspective may not have been fully voiced previously — and it may also have changed due to her loss. 

How can advisor's help get widows on the right road after losing a spouse? I recommend a few guiding principles.

• Allow time to grieve. As tempting as it is to begin with the numbers, a widow’s first priority must be dealing with her emotions. Many widows feel a sense of panic, especially if they spent the past months or years in a state of crisis, caring for an ailing spouse. It’s wise to avoid making major decisions for at least six months to a year.
• Stay flexible. A life insurance disbursement should be placed in a money market fund rather than a certificate of deposit or any other fund that would tie the money up for a period of time.
• Develop a plan for bills and paperwork. A widow who has not been the family’s chief financial officer may need a crash course in personal finance. Set up a system to deal with bills and evaluate investment account statements. Break down the long list of complex financial issues so that they can be addressed in an orderly fashion.
• Look beyond financial matters. In addition to a financial advisor, the widow may also need to work with an attorney, a psychologist, grief counselor or even a career counselor. Certain professionals have greater skill and empathy for working with widows and women in transition. Drawing from your network, offer to coordinate the work of other professionals, monitoring their progress and systematically identifying and addressing any new needs that may emerge in the future.
• Transition from immediate tasks to long-term planning. After the immediate concerns of locating the will and filing for life insurance benefits, it’s time to deal with life planning, including funding the children’s education and retirement and other goals. That’s tough when a client is alone. Develop a plan that takes a holistic view of the situation.
• Take a team approach. Many recent widows turn to family members and friends for financial advice. But while an individual may provide essential emotional support, it is unlikely he or she can serve as a source of dispassionate expert advice. And if overused, this relationship can create an unhealthy dependency that prevents your client from making her own decisions. No one can take the place of a lost spouse, but you can help a widowed client create a team of experts.
• Make retirement saving a priority. Workplace retirement plans mean tax-advantaged savings. So it’s a mistake to focus only on investing the life insurance settlement. Encourage widowed clients to contribute the maximum amount to their 401(k)s and, if they are over age 50, to make the additional catch-up contribution.

Subject: An Old Useful Tool.......

My thanks to Max for this post;

Can you name this strange old tool? Do you know what it is? Tobacco Smoke Enema Kit (circa 1750s - 1810s) The tobacco enema was used to infuse tobacco smoke into a patient's rectum for various medical purposes, but primarily the resuscitation of drowning victims. A rectal tube inserted into the anus was connected to a fumigator and bellows that forced the smoke into the rectum. The warmth of the smoke was thought to promote respiration. Doubts about the credibility of tobacco enemas led to the popular phrase "blowing smoke up your ass." This old tool is still heavily used by the Christy Clark's government and the harper government.

Aging in our society

The following was written in My Senior Portal  by Bonnie D. Kupperman, Executive Editor of My Senior Portal.

The beginning of a new year signals fresh thoughts of better habits, lasting relationships and improved health.

For me it is a time to reflect on the state of affairs for those of us in the 55 and above club.

How will we live?   Where will we live?  What will we do that will bring us happiness and give back to the world we live in?

How are those who are already living in assisted living and nursing homes fairing?

Will medical science come up with ways to keep us off walkers and out of wheel chairs?

Will we remain healthy or not?…will be become closer to families and friends,…get our affairs in order and discuss them with our offspring. These are questions we all face at the same time as many still struggle with  texting and tweeting.

What can each of us do to plan for the future and precisely what should we do starting immediately to help insure that the lives of those we love as well as those we will never meet, have healthier, richer, more meaningful lives?

It is the last thought I would like to share with you for this first column of 2015. I think about it a great deal both personally and in my role as a columnist and editor of this weekly newsletter.

I am optimistic that life will be better as more people recognize that our demographic is so large we cannot be denied. We do control more than 3/4 of America’s wealth. We have learned over our lives that money talks, yet we remain silent.

I worry because no matter how many articles I read about baby boomers changing the face of aging and older people swallowing up technology of all sorts, I do not see the recognition and respect for “elders” that I see in other groups…i.e.  women, gays, people of color. I also do not see a strong unified, growing grassroots  movement within our ranks of some 80 million people 55 and older, speaking up, demanding equal rights as other groups have done.

The odd part about the lack of movement is that those who fought so valiantly for gay marriage, integration, equality of women  are themselves today a member of the “elder” generation. Where are their voices and yours when it comes to  ageism, such as the disgraceful treatment in nursing homes where abuse is common?

Where is the chorus of protest against those ravaged with frailty and dementia as family members abandon  them or quietly empty their savings?

Where are the voices of proponents of equality when it comes to job discrimination against people over 55?  Why do we merely grumble among ourselves but do nothing to protest advertising for fashion aimed at bodies we can no longer be certain we once had?

Women over 50 spend $21 billion on clothes annually yet there is not one pictured on the pages of Vogue?

Why do we accept leisure travel campaigns aimed only at families with young children or glamorous couples in their 30's when we represent more than 50% of all vacations dollars spent in America?

In almost ever category from food away from home, entertainment, personal care and gifts we outspend the average consumer yet we remain invisible other than when we are pictured as foolish as in the “she is writing on her wall” television ad or hurricane walking aids and incontinent diapers.

When are we going to be the voice of elder hood and demand to be recognized as the competent, experienced, intelligent, savvy  and most of all respected group we are?

The world has never before had a group of  human beings as large as we are (and growing) today. We should be front and center but we mostly hidden and silent.

There are those who are trying to make changes. The problems of this aging and old population have been apparent to many professionals for years.

In 1990, the late Robert N. Butler M.D, founded the International Longevity Center as a research and education organization to respond to the twentieth century phenomena of great longevity and population aging.

The center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City was created along with the word ageism. Dr. Butler’s concern for the changes that are now occurring throughout the world was developed to change the face of “old age” from end of the line to a vital stage of life rather than as a burden on society. It continues to explore everything that affects this demographic from better care for the ill to inter generational interaction and continued working opportunities within communities.

There are other encouraging signs of change such as gerontologist and author Bill Thomas . He created the Greenhouse project to replace traditional institutional hospital-like models. Projects such as he envisioned are cropping up around the country.

Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Encore.org has pioneered a movement to encourage people past midlife to engage in new and exciting careers to solve world problems during the 30 or more years they will live beyond retirement.

Another movement called Village to Village Network supports communities that are willing to create villages where elders live in their own homes among younger people who volunteer to help them with daily living.

There are many others though assorted sponsorships from independent living facilities to assisted and nursing homes striving to make life better for our lives.

In order to make our lives what we want them to be however, I am convinced that those who want life to be full, rich and meaningful must step up and act, step out and speak. We must form grassroots efforts to let everyone from 26 year old technology geeks to 35 year old advertising executives that we are alive, we are vital, we demand to be seen and heard from.

Imagine where women, blacks, gays would be today if they had stayed hidden and quiet. We must follow their lead or accept life as hard of hearing geezers who lack sexual appetites….as people who must stop working at an arbitrary age whether we want to or not, accept elder abuse as sad but…., and remain silent.

How can we make changes we want to see? Weight Watcher started with an overweight woman name Jean Nidetch in 1961 Meetings began in her Queens, NY apartment. Apple Inc. creators Steve Job and Steve Wozniak began in a garage.

Great accomplishments begin with small ideas. What are we waiting for? Gather a few friends and talk about what you would like to see happen. It is amazing what can come out of a coffee meet around kitchen table. We do not have time to sit still.

Retirement Plan Basics

I find that the web site Wiser Women has good information for men as well as women. They are a rich resource for anyone thinking/planning to retire. Their focus is on the needs of women, but men can learn from the ideas they post as well.

These resources will help you to understand the different types of retirement plans and what you should do to make sure you get the most out of your plan.


Here are some important questions to ask regarding related retirement plans:

What Women (And Men) Need to Ask Themselves:

Want to change you retirement plan? Which plan could you roll it into? Our chart lets you know!
Have you diversified your investments?
Do you know what the value of your investments is expected to be at retirement?
Have you planned how you will manage payouts from an employee savings plan, such as a 401 (k) plan?
Have you provided for ways to protect your assets, such as through life, disability income or long-term care insurance or by purchasing an annuity?
Want to change you retirement plan? Which plan could you roll it into? Take a look at our chart to the right to find out!

What Women Need to Ask Their Spouses (and that men need to be clear on)
Have you earned a pension(s)?
Do you know how much the pension will be upon retirement?
Will we receive a benefit in the event that you become disabled or die?
Do you know how much that benefit will be?
Will I receive a benefit if you die before me? If so, what amount?
When are you entitled to retire and receive a full or partial pension benefit?
Do you know whom we can talk to at work about this?
When should we discuss our overall retirement strategy to plan for our future?
Does your job allow you to save through a tax deferred savings plan such as a 401(k) plan or a 403 (b) account?
Do you have an Individual Retirement Account? Am I the beneficiary?

What Everyone Need to Ask Their Employers:
Does the company offer a pension plan? A savings plan?
Am I eligible for the pension plan?
Is the pension plan integrated with my Social Security benefit?
How long does it take to earn a legal right to the pension?
Do we have a tax deferred savings plan such as a 401(k) or a 403(b)? Does it offer employer matching contributions?
What will the present day value of my pension if I consider changing jobs today

Confused about a decision?

Confusion, indecision, and uncertainty, often mean that if you wait a little longer before deciding, an even better option will emerge, with such clarity it may bite you on the nose and sweep you off your feet. So why not wait a bit longer?