Love and life lessons learned the hard way

Life insurance is love insurance, which makes February — the month of love — the time to “Insure Your Love.ˮ¹

The death of a spouse often ushers in some harsh economic realities for the survivor. Without life insurance or other assets, many face a sharp drop in income. For some, it can be the beginning of a slide into poverty. Worse yet, older women are more vulnerable to poverty than men. Nearly a third of single women over age 75 are left with incomes of less than $890 a month.²

The two sides of Social Security
Although many widows may be hit especially hard financially by the loss of a spouse, Social Security benefits can prove to be a life saver. For example:

• If you’re a widow and your deceased spouse is eligible for Social Security, you may be eligible to receive full benefits at your full retirement age or reduced benefits as early as age 60.³
• If you and your deceased spouse have children under age 16 you may be eligible for survivor’s benefits payable until they reach the age of 18.³ Something to note: Once your dependent children reach age 18, there are no Social Security survivor benefits available until you are age 60 or eligible for your own Social Security retirement, the earliest at age 62.³

Bottom line: What this means is that there may be a blackout period that could run for many years during which a widow is not eligible for any Social Security benefits. That’s the reason why many struggle financially and why some end up in poverty. It doesn’t have to be this way, however.

The power of life insurance
People buy life insurance because they love someone — they want to protect them financially and have a positive effect on their lives. Once families know about their vulnerability to these risks they can do something about it, and there’s no better time to act than now.

Let’s get together. I can help you begin to assess your needs so you can determine how much and what kind of coverage is appropriate for you and your loved ones. Life can change in the blink of an eye — what will be your legacy?

¹http://www.lifehappens.org/press-releases/february-marks-the-life-foundations-annual-insure-your-love-awareness-campaign/
²http://www.wiserwomen.org/index.php?id=274&page=Widowhood:_Why_Women_Need_to_Talk_About_This_Issue
³http://www.ssa.gov/survivorplan/survivorchartred.htm