Although the saying goes that two can live as cheaply as one, the opposite can also be found to be true for an older woman.
No woman wants to think about how her life might change in her older decades, however, living alone can lead to higher expenses and with longevity numbers higher for women to begin with and the fact that many women shoulder the burden of child care and do not have as much retirement savings as a result, it’s more important than ever to consider how your retirement planning can act with your estate planning.
There are a couple of different things you can do to empower yourself in the retirement planning process as a female. First of all, you need to get organized by maintaining a list of all account logins, numbers and balances. This gives you an idea of where you’ll stand in the event that you were to suffer a sudden life changing event such as a diagnosis of a disability.
Furthermore, you need to prepared to take control for your finances even if you have neglected financial planning in the past. Furthermore, it can be devastating to realize that the pain of losing a spouse can lead to another blow when there was no estate plan in place.
Make sure that you have financial and medical powers of attorney as well as all the crucial documents necessary to protect you, if something were to happen to you or to your loved one. Speak to a Massachusetts estate planning lawyer if you need help talking through the connection between your retirement and estate planning.