Tool 05 · Protecting each other

The Surviving-Spouse Cliff

When one of you dies, a Social Security check stops, the pension may shrink, and the survivor files taxes as single. The bills barely move. Here's the gap most couples never see coming.

— monthly Social Security $2,400

— monthly Social Security $1,500

Monthly pension $1,800

Monthly portfolio withdrawal $2,000

Monthly expenses (both of you) $7,000

Bills that remain for one person 80%

Housing, taxes, and insurance don't halve when one person is gone.

Who passes first?

Both living

After

SS (Pat) SS (Sam) Pension Portfolio Monthly bills

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