The prospect of outliving your partner or spouse is not one many of us care to think about too often. Like many potentially life-changing events, it can illicit emotions of helplessness, leave us frightened for the future and worried about our financial position.
Perhaps the Covid-19 pandemic has made you reflect on what were to happen if your ‘other half’ – whether male or female – were to die, or maybe you know someone who is going through the loss of their partner.
For women, it is an all too likely scenario, given that they typically outlive men. According to the latest official data from Public Health England, life expectancy in England in 2020 was 78.7 years for males and 82.7 years for females. This same trend plays out worldwide, with a World Health Organization report published in 2019 showing that women live longer than men everywhere in the world.
Following the death of a civil or cohabiting partner or spouse, many people inherit a lump sum, or a series of savings and investments for which they are now responsible. At a time of intense sadness and upset, this can feel truly overwhelming.
However, there are times when we all have to consider certain practicalities – they will provide the guidelines you need in times of severe stress.
The time to plan financially for a bereavement is before it happens. This might sound obvious, but it is easy to either find the conversation too difficult or to take a partner’s word for it when they say that, upon their death, “everything is in hand”.
Whether the death is sudden or expected, those who are left behind should not have to worry about their income or whether they can afford to keep their home. Instead, their priority should be grieving and figuring out the future.
