3 Sources of (Often-overlooked) Lost Income For A Surviving Spouse

(don’t forget to checkout the video of this blog too)

You can do a perfect job in creating a retirement income plan.

But what happens to that income plan if 1 spouse passes away prematurely⁉️

Obviously there will be a lot of grieving at the loss of their loved one…

But, there may also be a lost income they hadn’t accounted for in retirement.

Here are 3 sources of lost income that must be taken into account in your retirement plan:

✅ Lost Social Security Income

The surviving spouse does keep the higher of the two Social Security income benefits….

But they don’t get to keep both‼️

So this is a guaranteed source of LOST income that needs to be accounted for.

(more on this in a moment) 👇🏻

✅ Lost Pension or Annuity Income

A lot of people elect maximum income on a pension or annuity payment.

This is great it when it comes to maximizing guaranteed, lifetime income.

But, you also need to factor in how much income the surviving spouse stands to lose in a premature death situation.

Many pensions only continue at 50% for the surviving spouse…

So there’s often a significant pay cut that needs to be taken into account for a surviving spouse.

✅ The Tax Bracket Shift

This one is RARELY considered as part of a plan….

But let’s say you do have a perfect income replacement strategy in place.

Whether with a joint income annuity or a life insurance policy.

The surviving spouse has a full replacement of income if his or her spouse passes away prematurely.

But, even with a full replacement of income there is a VERY different tax bracket schedule for a (now) single filer.

They are now paying significantly higher taxes on the same amount retirement income‼️

That’s simply because they are no longer able to file taxes jointly anymore.

This could mean a significant loss in income just because the tax bill is higher.

This is something that is usually overlooked, but it’s something that should be incorporated in a income replacement strategy.

Let’s Chat 💬😎