You may outlive your wife; most men don’t, but 20% do. This makes them widowers. No one writes about them because (80%) of married women outlive their husbands (do unmarried women outlive unmarried men or widowers?). Since 80% is greater than 20%, the women get the attention because they live about 14 years longer than their husbands (or all men generally, according to the U.S. Census Bureau). If you married a younger woman, you might hope she marries a richer man after you die. If she does not remarry, you better plan for her future.

We all have rules for living. We get them from our parents and the neighborhood where we live. If Dad was good to Mom, most likely you will do the same. Your Mom (and mine) did not know much about financial planning and investments. Today, couples are more open, but not more prepared. Husbands have an inherent responsibility to care for their wives today and evey tomorrow.

The ethic of taking care of your wife comes from your worldview and personal rules of behavior. Rules of behavior or motivation come from your beliefs; what you consider important. God, family, and work often set the priorites. No matter how you arrange the list, family first is more than a motto.

The Bible outlines the impact of family love and affection:
• Widows without family “are really in need”, and deserve support from their church community
• Widows with family (children and grandchildren) should receive care from their family
• Children (and grandchildren) caring for their Mom “put their religion into practice”
• Children (and grandchildren) ignoring their Mom’s needs have “…denied the faith” and they are “…worse than an unbeliever.” (See I Timothy 5:8)

What makes this information relevant? Not every husband nor every household can accumulate and sustain the wealth needed to provide for a mother. A wife with children is a mother (what a friend of mine calls “a keen observation of the obvious”). Many husbands and Dads work to support their household; sometimes their real estate, retirement plans, and personal savings cannot endure the depreciating affects of inflation and time. Sometimes circumstances thwart every dream and commitment. “xxit happens”

Although I don’t have a statistic, my guess is that many women sit alone in cold flats with empty thoughts, dry oil tanks, and little food. Houses of faith should search their community to provide help when needed. Houses of faith should provide help for widows without children or assets.

A recent study by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research suggests husbands and families overlook the needs of widowhood. According to the research, almost three-in-10 single women live in poverty or on the edge of poverty. Living “without a husband” (or her husband) worsens a women’s living conditions.

About 800,000 women become widows yearly. The research report informs us that there are 11.3 million widows in the United States (2.6 million widowers). Nearly 2.5 million live impoverished lives.

Children could blame their Dad for poor planning. Dad could live his last years embarassed by a seeming lifetime of financial failure. The reasons for anyone’s poverty are irrelevant. No one’s home must be shared with rodents, nor filled with chilly air. No one should sup alone, nor should they scour barren cabinets for a meal.

No woman, with or without children, should live in poverty. If she does not have children, then her neighbors should “love her as they do themselves.”

The Wall Street Journal’s “Ask Encore” by Kelly Greene gives the answer.

As you know, at age 70 1/2 you must take your required minimum distribution (RMD) by April 1rst of the following year and then every year no later than December 31st. As Greene notes, some retirees will take their first distribution during the year they turn 701/2 to avoid taking two distributions following the year they become 70 1/2.

Many workers, age 70 1/2 and older continue working so they keep adding to their 401(k) plan. As long as the worker keeps working and contributing, there is nothing requring a distribution until April 1st the following year of their retirement.

Here is the rub if you own 5% or more of the company: you must begin distributions at age 70 1/2 even though you continue working.

If you have other retirement plans, you must begin taking distributions from them at age 70 1/2. If not, you face up to a 50% penalty on the value of the amount you should have withdrawn from those accounts.

IRS Publication 590 will answer many questions.

BankRate.com gives you further details about your retirement distributions.

If you need help calculating your required minimum distribution, send me a request by completing this contact page.

Here’s the formula if you want to complete the calculation yourself. Check your retirement account balances as of December 31st of the year prior to the year of your distribution. You’ll need the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table to get the age-based factor for your calculation. The age on your most recent birthday (starting at age 70 1/2) will tell you the age-based factor you will use.

The Saturday/Sunday edition dated September 22, 23, 2007 includes the front page article, “The 10 most important questions you and your spouse should ask each other about retirement-and probably haven’t….”

Glenn Ruffennach lists questions derived from a survey of future retirees. The content of the article is worth reading. If you miss the article, here are the questions.

1. “Do we really want to retire, and if so, when?”

2. “What is our vision of retirement-and do we share the same vision?”

3. “Where do we want to retire?”

4. “What’s our strategy for building and preserving a nest egg.”

5. “What assets do we have for retirement-and are they invested in the most beneficial ways to achieve our goals?”

6. “How much money will we need to support our lifestyle in retirement?”

7. Do we have an estate plan-and where is it?”

8. “What will our legacy be?”

9. “What kind of relationships-personal and financial-do we want to have with our children and parents in later life?”

10. “How will each of us approach, and manage, getting older?”

Take time to talk, to plan, to live, to do, to laugh, and to grow old together.