金伯利·戴維斯在50多歲的時候與結(jié)婚20多年的丈夫離婚,這件事情對她的財務(wù)和情感造成的影響,就像是生活中發(fā)生了一次“核爆”。當(dāng)初為了丈夫的事業(yè),她從美國搬到了英國,離婚后她不得不切斷了與住了10多年的家園的所有聯(lián)系,回到美國。她還要在財務(wù)領(lǐng)域重新發(fā)展自己的事業(yè),因為她之前為了照顧三個孩子辭掉了工作。離婚拖延了太長的時間,讓她和前夫付出了更多的經(jīng)濟成本。
現(xiàn)年65歲的戴維斯對《財富》雜志表示:“離婚的決定毀掉了我的經(jīng)濟生活。當(dāng)時我54歲,沒有人愿意雇傭我?!?/p>
她遭遇了越來越多的麻煩。由于戴維斯長期在海外生活,因此她在美國沒有信用記錄,這導(dǎo)致她很難用自己的身份找到房子。在最低谷的時候,戴維斯不得不請求父親作為擔(dān)保人才能租到房子。而且在離開職場數(shù)十年后,她很難找到工作。戴維斯最終在摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)找到了工作,現(xiàn)在是一位理財顧問和作家。盡管她目前收入豐厚,但她仍然在為退休儲蓄而努力。
戴維斯的故事暴露出“晚年離婚”的一些壞處?!巴砟觌x婚”是指夫妻在50歲以后離婚。雖然在過去20年內(nèi),美國的整體離婚率下降,但老年夫妻的離婚率卻呈上升趨勢。目前,約40%的離婚夫妻為50歲或年齡更高。皮尤研究中心(Pew Research Center)的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),自20世紀(jì)90年代以來,晚年離婚率翻了一番。65歲以上的夫妻離婚率升高了兩倍。
在任何年齡段離婚都會在情感和財務(wù)方面造成影響,但老年人離婚可能造成毀滅性的打擊。由于夫妻共同積累了數(shù)十年的資產(chǎn),因此離婚的過程更加復(fù)雜,而且任何一方在退休前恢復(fù)財務(wù)狀況的時間都少得多,特別是在投資方面。離婚會產(chǎn)生巨大的財務(wù)影響。
約翰遜金融集團(Johnson Financial Group)的高級副總裁兼理財顧問凱莉·穆爾德說:“老年人的財務(wù)狀況更復(fù)雜。他們可能有企業(yè);需要分割股份。我們看到隱匿資產(chǎn)越來越多?!?/p>
穆爾德指出,夫妻在晚年離婚有許多原因。許多客戶會等到孩子長大成人并搬出房子之后,再選擇離婚。有些人則因為退休后夫妻兩人在一起的時間增多,導(dǎo)致積怨爆發(fā)。而且社會上對于離婚的接受度更高。無論因為什么原因離婚,對夫妻雙方而言都是一種折磨。
對老年夫婦來說,分割退休賬戶的過程,例如401(k)賬戶、個人退休賬戶(IRA)、養(yǎng)老金賬戶等,可能是一團亂麻,而且會造成代價高昂的財務(wù)影響。部分原因在于,401(k)賬戶和養(yǎng)老金計劃的分割方式要遵守合格家庭關(guān)系令(QDRO)的規(guī)定,而個人退休賬戶的分配取決于賬戶是在結(jié)婚前還是結(jié)婚后開立。
此外,工作薪酬更低或者不工作的一方,社會保障福利將會被削減,這取決于他們的婚姻存續(xù)時間。出售資產(chǎn),包括房子、汽車等,同樣成本高昂。夫妻一方可能要向?qū)Ψ街Ц渡钯M。
“你會從頭再來”
研究顯示,離婚對老年女性的財務(wù)影響尤其嚴(yán)重。通常,在異性戀婚姻中,女性比男性更有可能為了照顧孩子而在黃金工作年齡退出職場,這導(dǎo)致她們在離婚訴訟和離婚之后處于劣勢。通常她們必須在多年甚至數(shù)十年后,努力重新進入職場。
皮尤的調(diào)查顯示,所有單身的老年人不太可能樂觀地描述自己的財務(wù)狀況。但在2014年,有19%的老年單身女性生活貧困,而男性的比例為15%?!独夏赆t(yī)學(xué)雜志》(The Journals of Gerontology)2021年的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn),50歲及以上的女性在離婚后生活標(biāo)準(zhǔn)下降了45%,而男性為21%。
當(dāng)然,男性也會因為晚年離婚而受到影響。皮尤的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),老年單身男性比單身女性更有可能陷入社交孤立。穆爾德認(rèn)為,這種情況有跡可循。她表示,據(jù)稱男性客戶在離婚后并不像女性一樣,善于維持與家人朋友的聯(lián)系,特別是在他們再婚的情況下。但研究發(fā)現(xiàn),總體而言,離婚對男性的財務(wù)影響要小得多。
無論男性還是女性,有許多方法可以輕松度過這個過程。穆爾德鼓勵夫妻雙方聘請各自的理財顧問和律師為他們提供支持。戴維斯建議夫妻雙方在婚姻期間都要關(guān)注各自的財務(wù)狀況。即使只有一方工作賺取報酬,夫妻兩人也應(yīng)該了解所有資產(chǎn)和賬戶。戴維斯還建議夫妻簽署婚前協(xié)議,規(guī)定如果一方放棄事業(yè)照顧家庭,其在財務(wù)上將享有哪些權(quán)利。
戴維斯表示,盡管經(jīng)過了長達數(shù)年的煎熬,她終于看到了一絲曙光,而這絲曙光點燃了她決定結(jié)束第一段婚姻的導(dǎo)火索。幾年前,戴維斯從租戶升級成為業(yè)主,再次結(jié)婚,甚至給自己買了一輛跑車。她的事業(yè)蓬勃發(fā)展,她對離婚后的生活非常滿意。
戴維斯說:“你將從頭開始?;蛟S你將不得不節(jié)衣縮食,但為了獲得自由和有機會實現(xiàn)自我并過上想過的生活,承擔(dān)任何財務(wù)壓力都是值得的。從某種程度上來說,這是我在50多歲的時候能夠經(jīng)歷的最美好的事情。”(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:劉進龍
審校:汪皓
金伯利·戴維斯在50多歲的時候與結(jié)婚20多年的丈夫離婚,這件事情對她的財務(wù)和情感造成的影響,就像是生活中發(fā)生了一次“核爆”。當(dāng)初為了丈夫的事業(yè),她從美國搬到了英國,離婚后她不得不切斷了與住了10多年的家園的所有聯(lián)系,回到美國。她還要在財務(wù)領(lǐng)域重新發(fā)展自己的事業(yè),因為她之前為了照顧三個孩子辭掉了工作。離婚拖延了太長的時間,讓她和前夫付出了更多的經(jīng)濟成本。
現(xiàn)年65歲的戴維斯對《財富》雜志表示:“離婚的決定毀掉了我的經(jīng)濟生活。當(dāng)時我54歲,沒有人愿意雇傭我。”
她遭遇了越來越多的麻煩。由于戴維斯長期在海外生活,因此她在美國沒有信用記錄,這導(dǎo)致她很難用自己的身份找到房子。在最低谷的時候,戴維斯不得不請求父親作為擔(dān)保人才能租到房子。而且在離開職場數(shù)十年后,她很難找到工作。戴維斯最終在摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)找到了工作,現(xiàn)在是一位理財顧問和作家。盡管她目前收入豐厚,但她仍然在為退休儲蓄而努力。
戴維斯的故事暴露出“晚年離婚”的一些壞處?!巴砟觌x婚”是指夫妻在50歲以后離婚。雖然在過去20年內(nèi),美國的整體離婚率下降,但老年夫妻的離婚率卻呈上升趨勢。目前,約40%的離婚夫妻為50歲或年齡更高。皮尤研究中心(Pew Research Center)的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),自20世紀(jì)90年代以來,晚年離婚率翻了一番。65歲以上的夫妻離婚率升高了兩倍。
在任何年齡段離婚都會在情感和財務(wù)方面造成影響,但老年人離婚可能造成毀滅性的打擊。由于夫妻共同積累了數(shù)十年的資產(chǎn),因此離婚的過程更加復(fù)雜,而且任何一方在退休前恢復(fù)財務(wù)狀況的時間都少得多,特別是在投資方面。離婚會產(chǎn)生巨大的財務(wù)影響。
約翰遜金融集團(Johnson Financial Group)的高級副總裁兼理財顧問凱莉·穆爾德說:“老年人的財務(wù)狀況更復(fù)雜。他們可能有企業(yè);需要分割股份。我們看到隱匿資產(chǎn)越來越多?!?/p>
穆爾德指出,夫妻在晚年離婚有許多原因。許多客戶會等到孩子長大成人并搬出房子之后,再選擇離婚。有些人則因為退休后夫妻兩人在一起的時間增多,導(dǎo)致積怨爆發(fā)。而且社會上對于離婚的接受度更高。無論因為什么原因離婚,對夫妻雙方而言都是一種折磨。
對老年夫婦來說,分割退休賬戶的過程,例如401(k)賬戶、個人退休賬戶(IRA)、養(yǎng)老金賬戶等,可能是一團亂麻,而且會造成代價高昂的財務(wù)影響。部分原因在于,401(k)賬戶和養(yǎng)老金計劃的分割方式要遵守合格家庭關(guān)系令(QDRO)的規(guī)定,而個人退休賬戶的分配取決于賬戶是在結(jié)婚前還是結(jié)婚后開立。
此外,工作薪酬更低或者不工作的一方,社會保障福利將會被削減,這取決于他們的婚姻存續(xù)時間。出售資產(chǎn),包括房子、汽車等,同樣成本高昂。夫妻一方可能要向?qū)Ψ街Ц渡钯M。
“你會從頭再來”
研究顯示,離婚對老年女性的財務(wù)影響尤其嚴(yán)重。通常,在異性戀婚姻中,女性比男性更有可能為了照顧孩子而在黃金工作年齡退出職場,這導(dǎo)致她們在離婚訴訟和離婚之后處于劣勢。通常她們必須在多年甚至數(shù)十年后,努力重新進入職場。
皮尤的調(diào)查顯示,所有單身的老年人不太可能樂觀地描述自己的財務(wù)狀況。但在2014年,有19%的老年單身女性生活貧困,而男性的比例為15%?!独夏赆t(yī)學(xué)雜志》(The Journals of Gerontology)2021年的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn),50歲及以上的女性在離婚后生活標(biāo)準(zhǔn)下降了45%,而男性為21%。
當(dāng)然,男性也會因為晚年離婚而受到影響。皮尤的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),老年單身男性比單身女性更有可能陷入社交孤立。穆爾德認(rèn)為,這種情況有跡可循。她表示,據(jù)稱男性客戶在離婚后并不像女性一樣,善于維持與家人朋友的聯(lián)系,特別是在他們再婚的情況下。但研究發(fā)現(xiàn),總體而言,離婚對男性的財務(wù)影響要小得多。
無論男性還是女性,有許多方法可以輕松度過這個過程。穆爾德鼓勵夫妻雙方聘請各自的理財顧問和律師為他們提供支持。戴維斯建議夫妻雙方在婚姻期間都要關(guān)注各自的財務(wù)狀況。即使只有一方工作賺取報酬,夫妻兩人也應(yīng)該了解所有資產(chǎn)和賬戶。戴維斯還建議夫妻簽署婚前協(xié)議,規(guī)定如果一方放棄事業(yè)照顧家庭,其在財務(wù)上將享有哪些權(quán)利。
戴維斯表示,盡管經(jīng)過了長達數(shù)年的煎熬,她終于看到了一絲曙光,而這絲曙光點燃了她決定結(jié)束第一段婚姻的導(dǎo)火索。幾年前,戴維斯從租戶升級成為業(yè)主,再次結(jié)婚,甚至給自己買了一輛跑車。她的事業(yè)蓬勃發(fā)展,她對離婚后的生活非常滿意。
戴維斯說:“你將從頭開始?;蛟S你將不得不節(jié)衣縮食,但為了獲得自由和有機會實現(xiàn)自我并過上想過的生活,承擔(dān)任何財務(wù)壓力都是值得的。從某種程度上來說,這是我在50多歲的時候能夠經(jīng)歷的最美好的事情。”(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:劉進龍
審校:汪皓
When Kimberlee Davis got divorced from her husband of over 20 years in her early fifties, the financial and emotional consequences were akin to a “nuclear explosion” in her life. Having moved from the U.S. to England for her husband’s career, she had to cut all ties with her home of over a decade and head back to the States. She also needed to rebuild her career in finance after quitting to care for her three children. The divorce dragged on and on, costing both her and her ex-husband more money.
“That decision destroyed my economic life,” Davis, now 65, tells Fortune. “I was 54 years old. People were not clamoring to hire me.”
Problems piled up. Having lived abroad for so long, her credit in the U.S. was nonexistent, making it difficult to find housing on her own. Her lowest moment was asking her father to act as a guarantor so she could rent a house. And she had a difficult time finding work after decades out of the corporate world. Davis eventually landed a job at Morgan Stanley, and is now a financial advisor and author. Despite earning good money, she is still playing catch-up with her retirement savings.
Davis’s story exemplifies some of the perils of “gray divorce,” which describes spouses separating after age 50. While overall divorce rates in the U.S. have fallen over the past 20 years, they have actually increased for older couples. Currently, almost 40% of those getting divorced are 50 or older. Since the 1990s, gray divorce has doubled, according to the Pew Research Center. For those over 65, the divorce rate has tripled.
Divorce at any age will lead to emotional and financial fallout, but it can be particularly devastating to older Americans. Not only is the process likely to be more complicated because of decades of accruing assets together, but each spouse has far less time to rebuild their finances before retirement, particularly investments. The financial implications are huge.
“You’re looking at much more complex finances. They could own businesses; stock needs to be divided,” says Kelly Mould, senior vice president and financial advisor at Johnson Financial Group. “We’ve seen an increase in hidden assets.”
There are any number of reasons couples divorce later in life, says Mould. Many clients wait until their kids are grown and out of the house to separate. For others, retirement can bring long-simmering resentments to a head once spouses are spending significantly more time together. Divorce is also far more socially acceptable than it used to be. Whatever the reason, both spouses suffer.
For older couples, the splitting of retirement accounts—401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, and so on—can be a messy and expensive financial hit. This is in part because the way 401(k)s and pension plans are split is governed by a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), while IRAs are distributed depending on if they were opened before the marriage or during.
Additionally, the partner who had a lower-paying job or wasn’t working outside the home may see their Social Security benefits slashed, depending on how long they were married. The sale of assets, including the home, cars, etc., can also be costly. And one spouse may owe the other alimony.
“You’ll start over”
The financial effects are especially pronounced for older women, research shows. Generally speaking, women in heterosexual marriages are more likely than men to drop out of the workforce in their prime earning years to care for children, putting them at a disadvantage in the divorce proceedings and after the split is finalized. Often, they must try to reenter the labor force for the first time in years or even decades.
All older adults who live alone are much less likely to describe their financial situation favorably, according to Pew. But 19% of older women who lived alone were in poverty in 2014, compared to 15% of men. And women 50 and older experience a 45% decline in their standard of living postdivorce, compared to 21% for men, a 2021 study from The Journals of Gerontology found.
Of course men, too, suffer from gray divorces. Older men who live alone “are considerably more likely to experience social isolation than women who live alone,” per Pew. Mould says this tracks. Anecdotally, she says, male clients aren’t always as adept at keeping up with their families and friends postdivorce as women often are, particularly if they remarry. But on the whole, the financial fallout is far less severe, the research finds.
There are a number of ways to ease the process, for both men and women. Mould encourages both spouses to have their own financial advisor and lawyer to advocate for them. Davis advises both partners to be on top of their finances throughout the marriage. Even if only one spouse works outside the home for pay, both should have knowledge of all of the assets and accounts. Davis also encourages couples to get prenuptial agreements that outline what one spouse is entitled to financially if they give up their career to be the family caretaker.
Despite the years of strain, Davis says there’s a light at the end of the tunnel—the light that sparked the initial fuse to end her first marriage. She upgraded from renter to homeowner a few years ago, got remarried, and even bought herself a race car. Her career is thriving, and she feels fulfilled with what she has built post-split.
“You’ll start over. Maybe you’ll have to live on a tighter budget, but the freedom and the chance to go self-realize and live the life you wanted is worth more than any financial stress,” she says. “It was in some ways the best thing that could have happened to me in my fifties.”