Women & Wealth June 2015 Newsletter: Longevity
Women’s Series: Women & Longevity
When I’m working with a couple and we are reviewing their retirement plan, almost 100% of the time the plan has the husband passing first and the woman living several years later even if the couple is the same age. Statistics show the majority of women living longer than their male spouses. Why? And what should we do prepare?
So why do we as women live longer than men? Research points out several reasons; a couple of reasons caught my attention: Men are more likely to develop heart disease a lot earlier than women; statistics show that men experience a risk of heart disease as early as in their 40s where women don’t start to increase the risk of heart disease until after menopause. Testosterone plays a role as well. Later in life testosterone can put men at risk biologically as well as behaviorally. It can increase blood levels of the bad cholesterol (LD) and can decrease the good one (HDL) which put men at greater risk for heart disease and stroke. Estrogen on the other hand has beneficial effects on heart health for women by lowering LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol. Although we tend to live longer than men we may live longer with diseases while men die from them. So, given this information – the fact that you may be single later in life and you may live longer with a disease – what should you do now to prepare yourself?
If you are not involved in your finances, investments or legacy planning with your spouse please take an interest. More than likely, you will have this sole responsibility at some time in your life. It’s common for one spouse to handle the finances, but regardless of which of you handles the finances, as a minimum, attend meetings with the professionals your family works with and start learning about the budget and the investment portfolios, now. Most professionals are happy to educate their clients to be sure they are in a position to make the best decisions for their family.
Take time to have a plan in place. Our Family Wealth Planning Process is holistic in nature and automatically links investment plans to our client families’ financial goals continually providing a clear picture of our progress towards those goals. Having a plan in place is beneficial to knowing your next financial step for your family, knowing that you are able to take that step to pursue success and having a clear process to get there. Please review our Family Wealth Planning Process in detail on our website:
https://windsorwealth.management
If you are concerned about health issues later in life you may want to consider reviewing long term care insurance. Long term care insurance is a decision that needs to be made with your family. Some families are able to self-insure and therefore do not need to delegate that risk to an insurance company. Other families have a long history of long term care needs and do want to purchase long-term care insurance to protect themselves and their financial legacy. There are several options to choose from when reviewing this type of insurance, but choosing the right insurance company is the most important factor – your insurance is only as good as the financial standing of the insurance company.
Longevity for women is a good thing; we get to see our kids grow to be a success, meet our grandchildren and some of us will even get to meet our great-grandchildren. Making sure our plan is in place now can help make our lives easier and more enjoyable when we can focus on the important people in our lives instead of worrying about finances.
Our next topic will be on Caring for an Aging Parent
Thank you,
Christina Jones
Financial Planner
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
Christina.d.jones@raymondjames.com
Source:
Fretts, Ruth C. M.D., MPH, Perls, Thomas T., M.D., MPH. Why Women Live Longer Than Men. Retrieved from https://healthfully.org/lgev/id2.html
Long Term Care insurance policies have exclusions and/or limitations. The cost and availability of Long Term Care insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of Long Term Care insurance. Guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company. Please consult with a licensed financial professional when considering your insurance options. Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members. The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete, it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are those of Christina Jones and not necessarily those of Raymond James.