Sep 7, 2017 4 min read

Women face many more financial challenges than men. They usually live longer than men of the same age and they often have lower lifetime earnings. Because of this longer life expectancy, they often have higher lifetime medical expenses.

Women represent two-thirds of all nursing home patients. Women are 80 percent more likely than men to be impoverished at age 65 or older. Women ages 75 to 79 are three times more likely than men to be living in poverty.

Because of these facts, financial planning is probably more important for women. This planning must start early because decisions made in your early 60s can have a major impact in your eighties. Most men and women who are married have higher family income because there are often two incomes which allow them to have a higher standard of living. This higher standard of living often leads to better health options. Financial planning needs to consider all aspects of financial life including Social Security and health care planning.

A couple needs to make Social Security decisions together and consider the long-term effect of those decisions. There are several ways you can receive Social Security benefits, the first of which is on your own work record. You can claim Social Security starting at age 62, and you can delay making this decision up to age 70.

For anyone born before 1954, full retirement age is 66. This is the age you would receive your full Social Security benefit. If you apply early, you receive less every month for the rest of your life.

Every year before you reach full retirement age, you give up 6.5 percent per year. This lower monthly benefit means that you will also receive smaller cost of living increases. These claiming decisions are multiplied because they can have a big impact on spousal and survivor benefits. When someone passes away in a couple, living expenses do not cut in half. You still must heat the house, pay the taxes and pay for many other expenses. One Social Security check will stop coming in. The good news is it will be the smallest one.

The amount of money you received from spousal or survivor’s benefits is determined from earlier decisions. Starting benefits at 62 can cost your spouse tens of thousands of dollars when they need it most when they are a widow or widower. The greater the difference between spouses Social Security benefits, the more important the decisions are.

If you begin Social Security benefits after reaching full retirement age, 66 for people born before 1954, you get a delayed filing bonus of 8 percent extra for each year delayed up to age 70. While delayed credits do not affect spousal benefits, they do help survivor’s benefits. They also provide more family income while both spouses are alive.

Anyone who was 63 by Jan. 1 of this year and not yet collecting Social Security has an extra option that could be very valuable. That is the right to file a restricted application. This can allow you to collect some Social Security from your spouse’s work record and still allow your own benefit to grow. Make sure to review your options with a knowledgeable adviser.

Remember make important financial decisions together. Consider both the short- term and long-term ramifications. These decisions can have a major impact on your retirement satisfaction.

Gary Boatman is a Monessen-based certified financial planner and author of “Your Financial Compass: Safe passage through the turbulent waters of taxes, income planning and market volatility.”

To submit columns on financial planning or investing, contact business editor Michael Bradwell at mbradwell@observer-reporter.com.