Alistair Berg | Digitalvision | Getty Images
For many married women, one of the biggest financial transitions of their lives will come when it’s least welcome: after the death of their spouse.
Women, on average, live longer than men — a longevity gap that means many wives will outlive their husbands. At birth, the average life span for males in the U.S. is 76.5 years as of 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For women, that average is 81.4 years.
The gap shrinks once you reach age 65. At that point, life expectancy for men is another 18.4 years, or to age 83.4, according to the CDC data. For women, that average is 20.8 years, or age 85.8.
More from Women and Wealth:
That difference in life span means women are expected to receive most of the spouse-to-spouse wealth that gets passed on during the so-called great wealth transfer. That’s a period between 2024 and 2048 when an estimated $124 trillion will be passed on largely by baby boomers — those born 1946 to 1964 — and older generations, according to research from Cerulli Associates.
Of that amount, an estimated $54 trillion will get passed on to widowed spouses — 95% of which will go to women, according to Cerulli Associates. And, $40 trillion of it will go to widowed women who are baby boomers or older, the research shows.
Familiarize yourself with the finances
When it comes to women in these older generations, financial advisors say it is common for couples to have embraced the traditional role of the husband managing the investments and long-term planning.
“In many older households, the husband historically has handled most of the financial decisions,” said certified financial planner Ryan Marshall, a partner and financial advisor at ELA Financial Group in Wyckoff, New Jersey.
“It’s just more common that [older women] hadn’t been part of it,” Marshall said. “They’ve been taking care of everything else in the family.”
However, that lack of knowledge “can leave the surviving spouse feeling overwhelmed at an already difficult time,” Marshall said.
In other words, before you reach that point, it’s worth at least knowing where assets are held, how income is generated and who to call with questions.
“The goal is not to make everyone a financial expert, but to ensure the surviving spouse has the familiarity and confidence to navigate the transition,” he said.
You don’t need to rush decisions
While many married couples have an estate plan in place for when a spouse dies, others do not.
“If you didn’t plan for it in advance, you kind of have to start all over again,” said CFP Crystal Cox, a senior vice president for Wealthspire Advisors in Madison, Wisconsin.
“What is your new budget, for instance,” Cox said. “Or, before, your portfolio [was based] on a couple’s risk tolerance.