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joyfulguy

Thinking ahead financially

joyfulguy
20 years ago

Sometimes retirees, (often ones who lived more frugally than average, or sometimes a couple who never had children) have told me, with a satisfied (even rather gloating) smile on their faces, how they've never had it so good - their income in retirement is larger than it was during their earning years.

Many retirees have either a privately sponsored pension, or income from a farm which they used to operate, or from investments purchased with the proceeds of its sale.

In Canada, most us us have two government-related pensions: a (compulsorily contributory) Pension Plan, and another non-compulsory one (that carries some residency requirement to qualify).

I've suggested to some that, since it is unusual for a retired couple to depart this earth at the same time, that it might be well for them to give some thought to the situation after one is gone.

Quite a number of such families were one-earner ones, with the worker who contributed to the pension plan being the male.

In the somewhat infrequent situation in which the stay-at-home female departs first, usually the pensioner will continue to receive the full amount of the private pension and the full amount of the contributory government pension. If the non-employed spouse (usually female) qualified for the non-contributory government pension, one of the two of that kind of pension would disappear. The post-decease income would be something like 80% of the former level.

In the more usual circumstance in which the male, who'd contributed to the pension systems, departs first, quite often something approximating the following scenario applies for the non-employed spouse.

Private pension drops to often about 60% of the former amount.

Government contributory pension drops to about 60% of the former amount.

One of the two non-contributory government-related plans disappears.

So - the (on average) longer-lived non-contributory female's ongoing income may be something like 57% of the former income level enjoyed by the retired couple when both were alive.

When some have done calculations related to this situation, they have decided that it would be a good idea to invest some of the current income in order to provide extra income for the surviving female, should the husband depart this life first.

This situation may be one which it would be wise for many couples to consider.

Good wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous retirement, shared with a number of interesting activities and good friends.

joyful guy

(former farmer as a teen, seminary student, overseas missionary helping dispossessed reestablish after a devastating war, clergyperson, milk truck driver, security guard, mutual find salesperson, school bus driver, bartender, personal financial advisor and retirement consultant)

(did I miss any?)

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