The Trend Towards Later Retirement

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

According to The Pew Research Center, over the next decade, workers over age 55 will grow 4 percent per year — 4 times faster than the entire workforce. Older workers are not only a larger percentage of the overall workforce but also an important part of the workforce with their knowledge and experience base.

So, what are the reasons why people are working later in life?

• Some may need additional income after “first” retirement.

• Some indicated they thought they needed to supplement what they had already saved to keep up with inflation.

• Some may want something of value and purpose to do with their time and to feel that they are contributing to something meaningful.

• Some (especially women) are returning to work and starting their careers later in life after raising their families, and their children are out on their own.

• Some return to work after serving for some time as a caregiver to a spouse or parent and feel like they need to make up for lost time in their career and save for future financial security.

No matter what the reason(s), adults remaining longer in the workforce benefit from:

• Continuing to challenge themselves cognitively.

• Continuing to learn new things on the job.

• Continuing to socialize with coworkers and others in a work environment regularly.

With life expectancies anticipated to continue to grow in the coming decades, living to one hundred and beyond will be the norm in the not-too-distant future. And when it is, most of us will be working longer, either out of necessity to support ourselves financially and/or to keep ourselves cognitively challenged for the years we are living. So, if a longer life is in your future, a longer working life may also be in your future. It may not be only your first career that you retire from, but a second or third career. There is a lot to look forward to in a 100-year life!

Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Center for Financial Planning, Inc., is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete the CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.

Any opinions are those of Sandra D. Adams, and not necessarily those of Raymond James.

Preparing an Emergency Action Plan

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

Unknowns are a part of all of our lives, and the potential for the big "unknowns" becomes more significant as we age.

It is a best practice to have a full aging plan in place as we go into our retirement years. This includes:

• Where we might consider living as we age;

• Where, how, and whom we would consider having care for us as we age if we need care;

• How we will use our money, and whom it will go to once we are gone; and

• Who will help us with all of this if we cannot manage things as we age

An aging plan should also include an Emergency Action Plan. What is this, you may ask? It is the minimum provisions you should have in place in case an unexpected event occurs. Even if you don't have a full aging plan in place, an Emergency Action Plan is crucial. So, what should be part of an Emergency Action Plan?

• Name Advocates. By this, we mean having your Durable Power of Attorney in place for your financial affairs and your Patient Advocate Designation. If you have no one to name or if your family/friends' advocates need assistance, there are ways to have professional advocates in place to serve or assist (talk to your financial planner to discuss these options).

• Document Your Important Information in Advance. This includes your financial and health information so that your advocates are prepared to serve on your behalf without missing a beat. Our Personal Record Keeping Document is an excellent place to start this process.

• Communicate to Your Advocates that they have been named and verbally communicate your wishes. Your advocates can only make the best decisions for you and carry out your wishes if they (1) know they have been named your advocate and (2) are aware of the decisions you'd like to have made on your behalf.

Planning ahead is the best gift you can give yourself and your family. Having a full aging plan in place, but at a minimum, an Emergency Action Plan can put the pieces in place to allow for decisions to be made on your behalf in the way that you want them to. It can also provide resources for your best interests in your most critical time of need. If you need to put an Emergency Action Plan in place, ask your planner for assistance!

Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

Opinions expressed in the attached article are those of Sandra D. Adams and are not necessarily those of Raymond James. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

Another Way to Make Retirement Purposeful for You

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

One of our Center values is Education and Personal Growth. Continuously learning and growing in our personal and professional lives is core to what we are and what we do. It is also something we incorporate into conversations with clients as they think about what might make their retirements meaningful to them. 

Beyond knowing that clients are financially prepared for their retirement, we want to help make the next stage of their lives as purposeful and satisfying as possible. Part of that is helping clients explore hobbies, volunteer activities, travel, and learning that will fulfill them and make their lives full.  

Locally, there are several universities that can help fulfill the need of those looking to continue to learn and grow personally in retirement. We have three universities in Michigan that have been named Age-Friendly Universities – Michigan State University, Eastern Michigan University, and Wayne State University. In particular, Wayne State University offers a 75% tuition reduction to students 60 or older and sponsors the Society of Active Retirees, a 1,200-member lifelong learning community. Its volunteer force includes 300 persons 50 and up, and more than half of its faculty and 40% of staff are 50 or older. The WSU Institute of Gerontology also has an extensive research portfolio on aging, having received $54 million in funding for aging issues since 2015.

If you are interested in learning more about Wayne State University’s Age-Friendly University benefits, click here. And if you are interested in learning more about the Society for Active Retirees, click here. If you are interested in having a conversation about exploring other options for developing your own purposeful retirement, please reach out to one of our planners at The Center to start that conversation today.

Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

Opinions expressed in the attached article are those of Sandra D. Adams, CFP® and are not necessarily those of Raymond James. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

The Dangers of Ignoring Financial Planning When You're in a Couple

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

In an ideal world, a committed couple would be on the same page about most of the important things in life, especially about their financial future. Not only would they be on the same page, but they would equally participate in the planning process — all the way through the process. So, what happens when one partner is not engaged in the planning process — whether it be lack of interest in the process at all, or lack of engagement and/or follow-through once a plan has been completed? And what can be done, if anything, to make sure the couple and their plan are successful?

If both partners have been involved in going through at least an initial planning process, this is a good first step. This means that the couple has worked through the steps of establishing common goals, gathered their common financial information, and worked with a financial planner to review the analysis regarding how the assets and income they have may work to fulfill their specific goals, both now and in the future. These couples likely worked with the planner to establish at least an initial set of action steps to start working towards meeting their short- and long-term goals in the key areas of their financial plan.

Why One Partner May Be Unengaged:

Here is where there is usually a disconnect — where the less engaged spouse likely becomes unengaged. Once the initial financial plan is complete and the action steps are in place, the less engaged spouse may check out for various reasons:

• They may decide they don’t see the full value of the financial plan;

• They may get too busy with “life” and not make the financial plan a priority; or

• They may not see themselves in the “financial” lead role in the relationship and be simply delegating the action items to their more financially savvy spouse (whether or not this makes sense remains to be seen.)

If one of the partners is not involved in the planning process at all, this can be an even harder situation to address. When one partner is not engaged in the process at all, it is hard to discuss, set, and include common goals in the planning process. If one partner goes ahead with a plan, it can be one-sided or incomplete if done without the unengaged partner. The plan will lack input from one partner and may, in fact, be missing important information about assets, employment benefits, and/or future income resources if the participating spouse isn’t privy to all of the couple’s collective financial resources. Not having a financial plan that both partners have participated in putting together will be one that is lacking in some way — whether it be a lack of information or resources or a lack of input or agreement on current or future goals.

Why You Should Move Ahead Anyway:

Why might someone decide to move ahead with the financial planning process even if their partner is hesitant to participate in the process? In my experience, there are clients who have wanted to do planning for years and haven’t been able to get their partner on board. They may finally decide that they need to move forward, with or without their partner, for fear that they will end up without a plan and completely unprepared for the future. In addition, they may have had an experience as a caregiver for an older adult parent or watched someone they are close to go through the process of becoming a widow or widower and decide they want to be prepared if either of these major life transitions ever happens to them. For these clients, the personal experience of seeing others go through major life transitions without proper planning may compel them to want to plan more urgently than their partner.

What are some actions that a couple can take if one is more engaged than the other in the financial planning process so that their plan can be successful?

1. Come to a base agreement that a financial plan is needed. If you can come to a common agreement that a financial plan is needed, even if one of you is more enthusiastic about it than the other, that can be okay. If you can come to an agreement about who will take charge of scheduling a meeting with an advisor, collecting and organizing the information, scheduling appointments, etc., that is the first step. It is best if both partners will agree to participate in the full process, even if one takes the lead. This is the best way to ensure that you agree to and set common goals.

2. Set a regular “date” with your partner to discuss and review your finances. This blocks out time on your common schedules to concentrate on just your plan when you are working on preparing for the initial financial plan, and then can be helpful when you are working on the action items following your plan. This helps with the issues related to partners who get busy with life and can’t seem to make finances a priority.

3. Find a financial advisor that you feel you can trust and can delegate to. For those who have trouble with follow-through, or again, for those who have trouble carving out time, having a trusted professional to whom they can delegate to make sure that the plan gets carried out fully can be valuable and worth the cost.

As with many things in a relationship, partners aren’t always 100% on the same page or always rowing in the same direction all of the time. Finances are one of the most important issues a couple faces, and being in lock-step as much as possible is important. If a couple can find a way to work together in some way to complete and follow through on the financial planning process, even if one of the two takes the lead, but both participate, the process can still be a successful one.

Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

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 Sandra D. Adams and not necessarily those of Raymond James.

Prior to making an investment decision, please consult with your financial advisor about your individual situation.

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Center for Financial Planning, Inc® Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

When to Use Your Emergency Fund

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

Who actually has an emergency fund? “For those age 50 and up, it’s typically those who work with a financial advisor”, says Sandy Adams, CFP®. “The general population is bad at this. It’s particularly important to have an emergency fund as you get closer to retirement”, she says.

Read the full AARP article HERE!

Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

Any opinions are those of Sandy Adams, CFP® and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc.

Raymond James is not affiliated with AARP.

Family Experiences Can Trigger Planning for Long Term Caregivers

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

My grandmother died recently. She was 96 (almost 97) years old. The leading cause of death listed on her death certificate was Alzheimer’s disease. The last years of her life were not what I would call the best of “quality” – she had not been able to get out of bed to walk for several years, and while she did recognize her children until the end of her life, she would forget they had been there to see her within minutes. She outlived all of her siblings and most of my grandfather’s siblings (and my grandfather by almost three decades) and had been saying she was “ready to go” for quite some time.

Most of us familiar with Alzheimer’s and related dementias know that there are many types, and it is often hard to diagnose, especially if there are other health concerns. For many, it is more a result of older age than genetics; for those where early onset can be an issue, the symptoms can be masked by stress or other mental health issues, and the dementia can go untreated for years. Alzheimer’s and dementia causes and treatments are making some real progress but remain more of a mystery than they should for the more than 5.5 million Americans living with the disease.

While we are still being told that only a small fraction of those developing the disease are those that are not inherited (1 in 100 according to the Alzheimer’s Association), witnessing my grandmother spend her last several years in a nursing home floor of a hospital prompted me to make sure I had my Long Term Care plans covered.

When my grandparents were my age, Long Term Care insurance was unavailable. And because of that, my grandmother ended up spending down the assets my grandfather worked so hard for during his working life and living out her last years in a hospital nursing home on the memory care floor. She was fortunate to have ended up where she did — she was so well taken care of in a small town hospital. Some people don’t have it so well.

I want to make sure to have more control if this happens to me — and want to make sure that I can afford for care to be provided for me (rather than to have my kids have to do it), so I recently took steps to make sure I have a long term care policy in place that suits my needs. I am taking care of this now to have a plan in place for later.

As I tell clients all of the time, many of us don’t feel it is important to take action until we have had a personal experience with something. For me, watching my grandmother experience Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s care for the last several years has prompted me to put a Long Term Care plan into place for myself. If you have had a personal experience prompting you into action and would like our help, please do not hesitate to reach out — we are always happy to help!

Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

Any opinions are those of Sandra D. Adams, CFP® and not necessarily those of Raymond James.

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services are offered through Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Center for Financial Planning, Inc. is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of Long Term Care insurance and policies are subject to exclusions and limitations. Guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company.

Have You Prepared Your Advocates?

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

Going through the process of completing your estate planning documents is not an easy process. Working with an attorney to determine what documents you need, how you want the language written so that your assets are handled and decisions are made the way YOU want them, and choosing the best advocates to carry out those instructions can be very involved. No wonder it is a task that many people put off doing – it can be overwhelming!

Common Documents With Named Advocates

The most common estate planning documents that individuals have drafted (and that will require advocates to be named) are the following:

Most clients are so relieved when their documents have been drafted; it is a huge weight off their shoulders to have so many important decisions made and in place. It feels satisfying to have the binder of documents drafted by the attorney in hand and completed. 

Perhaps if you are even more “on the ball,” you follow through and get copies of your documents to your financial advisor and update your asset titling and beneficiaries according to the funding instructions provided by the attorney. If you have done that, you are ahead of the majority of clients, most of whom take the big binder home and file it away in a safe place and consider their estate planning completed! But is it?

Have you taken the final step and communicated to those you have chosen as your advocates that you have named them in your documents? 

The Importance of Communicating With Your Advocates

It is not uncommon for people to name others as future advocates for them in their legal documents, but not to communicate to them that they have been named. If you’ve ever been in the shoes of being that named advocate, and getting that “surprise” call that you suddenly need to make a life and death decision about someone’s health treatment when you had no idea you were named as their health care advocate and had not had conversations with them regarding their wishes around end of life treatment, you might think differently about having those proactive conversations.

It is extremely important to take this last step, and not only communicate with your advocates that they have been named in your documents but also give them the key information that they will need to fulfill your wishes.

Here is the key information you need to share:

Patient Advocate/Health Care Advocate:

• Drug allergies

• Current medications (or where to find your medications list)

• Your primary providers, your wishes on Code Status (i.e. DNR or full Code), and where your estate planning documents are located

• Your past surgical history

• Whether or not there is metal anywhere on your body

• What your wishes are for end-of-life care and treatments (i.e. aggressive vs. comfort treatment)

• Plans for future care and any professional relationships and resources that can be used to assist the advocate in their role (social workers, Geriatric Care Managers, etc.)

Durable Power of Attorney/Successor Trustee:

• Contact information for your professional advisors and, if possible, an introduction to those professionals.

• Instructions on where to find an “open me first” document (ex. Personal Financial Record System) that details your financial life (bank accounts, investment accounts, insurance policies, government benefits, employer benefits, etc.)

• Where to find your estate planning documents and a review of your Trust (especially for your successor Trustee, so they have a heads-up on how they might be managing your assets)

• An overview/general conversation about your wishes regarding handling your assets for future care and your values around money.

Executor/Advocate:

• Contact information for your professional advisors and, if possible, an introduction to those professionals.

• Instructions on where to find an “open me first” document (ex. Personal Financial Record System) that details your financial life (bank accounts, investment accounts, insurance policies, government benefits, employer benefits, etc.)

• Instructions on where to find your Letter of Last Instruction document outlining your wishes for after death.

• Where to find your estate planning documents, especially your Last Will & Testament, which will be the guiding document for your Executor.

• An overview/general conversation about your wishes regarding after-death arrangements, about your Will, and how you would like your assets handled post-death, especially if there is no Trust for assets to flow to.

The more information you can share with your future advocates, the better prepared they will be to make the decisions you would want them to make on your behalf should they ever need to serve. An advocate’s job is to be your fiduciary, which means to make decisions in your best interest; without the benefit of having full information on you and your situation, you make it almost impossible for them to do their job to the best of their ability.

If you have taken the time to draft your estate planning documents, our best advice is to complete the process by fully preparing your advocates to serve in your best interest – they’ll be glad you did!

Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

Opinions expressed in the attached article are those of Sandra D. Adams, CFP® and are not necessarily those of Raymond James. Securities Offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Center for Financial Planning, Inc., is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

Most Americans Want To ‘Age in Place’ At Home. Here’s How to Plan Your Support Systems

“None of us knows when that event might happen that will cause us to suddenly need help.” - Sandy Adams, CFP®

Read the full CNBC article HERE!

Any opinions are those of Sandy Adams, CFP® and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc.

Raymond James is not affiliated with CNBC.

When Volatile Markets Stop You from Moving Forward

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

The year 2022 was a historically volatile market, with returns in both the stock and bond indexes ending in negative territory for the first time in many years. While 2023 has been positive year-to-date, we are not without continued volatility and concerns, including a possible recession, tax uncertainties, inflationary concerns, and the continuing military tensions abroad in Russia and Ukraine, amongst others. 

I have a more significant number than normal of clients and prospective clients that seem "stuck" when it comes to making decisions about their money and investments in this market environment, almost appearing paralyzed by fear. The concern is that there could be greater harm in not doing anything in these situations than doing something. Let me explain.

The first situation is clients sitting in cash because that is where they feel their money is "safest." With these clients, as interest rates have begun to rise, they may still have cash sitting in bank accounts earning little to no interest and essentially "losing" buying power, as these dollars cannot possibly keep up with rising costs. Certainly, when markets are volatile, wanting to protect your hard-earned dollars from loss can be a top priority. However, not taking advantage of the rising interest rates on things like money markets, U.S. Treasuries, CDs, and instruments that can help earn extra interest on cash can harm a financial plan's long-term success. A commitment to slowly getting back into the market with a small amount of cash (via a dollar-cost-averaging strategy) can be a great way to ease someone back into a more traditional portfolio allocation once markets become more stable. In doing so, clients can get back on track to keep up with the returns they need to meet their long-term financial goals.

The second situation is clients who were relatively aggressive in their investment accounts prior to 2022 (i.e., in their former employer 401k accounts), and now that their accounts are down, they are afraid to make any changes in the portfolio allocations "until" the market comes back. Again, this is an example of seeming paralyzed by fear. It could take many years for the current account to come back, and the question is, are we in the right allocation for your current situation to be leaving it there? If not, perhaps it is better to move on and reallocate to a more appropriate allocation, or if appropriate, roll the 401k over to an IRA and have someone more actively watch it for you on an ongoing basis.

Positive markets are indeed much easier to invest in and to make decisions around. However, when we have volatile markets, we cannot get stuck and be paralyzed by fear, causing our financial plans to fail in the long run. If you or someone you know is feeling stuck and needs to talk to someone about options, please reach out to one of our financial planners for a conversation. We are always happy to help!

Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

The information contained in this letter does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Sandra D. Adams, CFP®, and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expression of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that these statement, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected, including diversification and asset allocation. Individual investor’s results will vary. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. Rebalancing a non-retirement account could be a taxable event that may increase your tax liability.

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services are offered through Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Center for Financial Planning, Inc. is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

Widowed Too Soon

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

When we hear the term widow or widower, we picture someone older – someone deep into their retirement years. The reality is, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average age of a widow or widower in the U.S. is currently 59-years-old. In my recent experience with clients, I have seen the statistics become reality. Clients becoming widowed well before their retirement years has, unfortunately, become increasingly common. The issues involved with this major, and often unexpected, life transition are not simple and are hard to go through alone.

If you are one that is left behind, there are several action steps that should be taken to get back on your feet and feel financially confident. In most cases, this is the woman (according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 32% of women over age 65 are widowed compared to 11% of men). There is no timetable for when these steps should be taken – everyone grieves in their own time and everyone is ready in their own time to move on and make sound financial decisions at different times. No one should be pushed into making financial decisions for their new normal until they are ready.

The first step is identifying sources of income. For young widows or widowers, you may still be working, but may have lost a source of income when your spouse passed away. Looking at where income might come from now and into the future is important. For young widows, life insurance is likely the source of the replacement for lost income. If you are closer to retirement, you may also have Veteran’s benefits, employer pension benefits, savings plans, home equity, income from investments, and Social Security.

The second step is to get your financial plan organized. Get all of your documents and statements put together and review your estate documents (update them, if needed). A big part of this is to update your expenses and budget. This may take some time, as your life without your spouse may not look exactly the same as it did with him/her. Determining what your new normal looks like and what it will cost may take some time to figure out. And it won’t be half the cost (even if you don’t have children), but it won’t be 100% or more either – it will likely be somewhere in between. Figuring out how much it costs you to live goes a long way toward knowing what you will need and how you will make it all work going forward. Your financial planner can be a huge help in this area.

The third step is to evaluate your insurances (health and long-term care). These costs can be significant as you get older, and it is important to make sure you have good coverage. For younger widows, those that are still working may have health insurance from their employer. If not, it is important to make sure you work with an agent to get counseling on the best coverage for you through the exchange until you are eligible for Medicare at age 65. And for long-term care, if you haven’t already worked with a financial planner to plan coverage and are now widowed – now is the time. Single folks are even more likely to need long-term care insurance than those with a partner.

The fourth step is to work on planning your future retirement income. Many widows don’t think enough about planning for their own financial future. What kinds of things should you be talking to your adviser about?

• Income needs going into retirement

• The things you would like to do in retirement/their retirement goals (travel/hobbies, etc.)

• What financial resources you have now (assets, income sources, etc.)

• Risk tolerance

• Charitable goals, family gifting goals, etc.

You can work with the adviser to design a tax-efficient retirement income plan to meet your goals with appropriate tools based on tax considerations and risk tolerances, etc.

And the fifth step is to evaluate housing options. We often tell new widows not to make big decisions, like changing homes, within the first year or two. However, many decide that they want or need to move because the house they are in is too big or they just need to make a move. Housing is roughly 40 – 45% of the average household budget – decisions need to be made with care.

For all widows, going it alone can be difficult with a lot of decisions and time spent alone. For many, it is going through the process of redesigning retirement all over again, now alone, when it was meant to be with your long-time partner. And learning to live a new normal and planning the next phase of life that looks entirely different than the one you had planned. With the help of a professional financial adviser, the financial side of things can be easier – the living part just takes time.

Sandra Adams, CFP®, is a Partner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® and holds a CeFT™ designation. She specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and serves as a trusted source for national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine, and Journal of Financial Planning.

Raymond James and its advisers do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional. Any opinions are those of Sandra D. Adams and not necessarily those of Raymond James.

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Center for Financial Planning, Inc., is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

The information contained in this blog 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. Prior to making an investment decision, please consult with your financial advisor about your individual situation.