Deciding to retire at the same time as your husband might make a lot of sense so that you can spend time together. However, there are other possibilities and challenges that could affect you. 
Married women are overall still considered in their peak earning years in their 50s and early 60s, whereas married men’s earnings are on the decline. More than 20,000 people aged 50 and above had their data included in this recent study from the University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study.
Benefits for social security are based on that person’s 35 highest earning years, so every additional year than an older married woman works could replace an earlier year in which her income was lower. But women typically do retire at the same time as their husband.
And since women tend to marry men a couple of years older, this means that married women leave the workforce at younger ages and therefore, have less high earning years to be calculated. Earlier retirements can also put pressure as far as less time to save for retirements that can stretch across decades.
Since women spend more years in retirement and are also likely to live longer, there are more years that females must consider in terms of financing. Since women are at risk of outliving their husbands, they also face the same risk of outliving their savings and women are 80% more likely live in poverty than men after age 65; according to research previously published by the National Institute of Retirement Security. Delaying Social Security, if not retirement, can be a powerful strategy to help women in this difficult situation, but this in and of itself might not be enough to help a woman who is considering her next steps.
If you are planning to accomplish your estate planning goals and to consult with a knowledgeable attorney, schedule a consultation with a lawyer today.
