Most women who lose their spouse struggle financially, with 51% living paycheck to paycheck or struggling to manage bills immediately after becoming widowed, a new from Thrivent survey reveals.
According to Thrivent, lack of proactive financial planning may be the cause: 41% of the widowed women surveyed said they had no financial conversations or plans in place before their spouse died.
“Losing a spouse is one of the hardest things anyone can experience,” Teresa Powell, a Thrivent financial advisor, said in a press release. “Immediately after this terrible loss, many widowed women face a tremendous financial burden without a solid plan in place. While nothing can protect against the heartache of losing a spouse, creating a financial plan with your spouse ahead of time is one of the greatest acts of love you can do for one another.”
Additional findings from the survey:
- 39% of widows carried over $25,000 of debt immediately after the death of their spouse, with 10% reporting over $100,000. 71% said losing their spouse made paying off debt more difficult.
- 70% of widowed women said their biggest concerns were becoming the sole financial decision-maker or paying their monthly bills on time.
- 35% of widowed women had to reduce or stop spending on nonessential items or activities, 14% had to pull money from retirement savings to cover expenses, and 11% reduced or stopped contributing to savings.
Thrivent conducted its survey in May 2024 among a national sample of 422 widowed women.
