By Karen Weeks of Elderwellness.net

The more years you have under your belt, the more experience you have with change and growth. This is great news as you enter a relationship as a senior. However, many seniors today have multiple concerns about getting married:

• Increased health insurance costs
• Loss of retirement benefits
• Changes to estate planning

Fortunately, there are steps you can take as a couple to protect the stability of your retirement while still enjoying the security of a committed relationship.

Focus on the Benefits

Getting married over 50 means that you aren’t naïve about the struggles and enjoyments of relationships, and this knowledge can help you approach financial details. One of the concerns facing newly married couples in their retirement years has to do with changes in taxes. However, more than half of married couples pay less together than they would if they weren’t married, and when it comes to estate and inheritance taxes, you’ll pay nothing when leaving money to a spouse. Additionally, there are potential financial benefits in Social Security and pensions. It also helps to remember that two people living together can do so for less money than two people living separately.

Understand Your Rights

Reach out to a retirement, pension, or estate planning lawyer to learn more about how your existing retirement benefits and existing estate plans will be affected when you get married. When health care decisions must be made and when health emergencies arise, as a spouse, you have the right to be present and involved; this isn’t possible for many domestic partners. As a surviving spouse, you may be entitled to survivor benefits. According to government officials, there are more than a thousand legal provisions affecting your benefits and rights that are affected by your marital status. Work closely with your lawyer before making decisions about insurance, Medicare, long-term care, and your updated Social Security and tax filing status.

Work Together on Important Decisions

There’s a pretty good chance that your and your significant other have separate homes, and you’ll need to determine whether to move into one of these homes or choose a new location. Either way, you’ll need to update the curb appeal of one of the homes to prepare it for sale.

Negotiating money management in a marriage is often tricky, and when it comes to combining your finances, your family may have some concerns. These discussions require empathy, patient listening, and a determination to stay focused on your goals and priorities.

Consider Building a Business Together

Now that the child-rearing years are over and you already have some retirement income, starting a new business can be an exciting and profitable venture. Not only is this a great way to spend more time together, but it is also a great way to stay active and engaged. Create a business plan to boost the impact on your retirement income with details about your company, how you’ll market the business, which structure is best suited to your goals, and where you’ll get the funding you need. 

Look out for ways to improve brand awareness with modern tools, such as this infographic template that guides you through creating engaging infographics and other marketing materials with customized text, images, fonts, and pictures. Alternatively, you could hire and pay a professional to handle these steps, though it will be more costly.

Approaching a new marriage in your retirement years offers many unique challenges and benefits and there are many ways to strengthen this relationship while working and playing. The more you know about how to navigate the situation, the easier it will be to progress along this path together.