Seniors Tying the Knot Face Twists : Financial Planning Called Essential in Post-60 Marriages

Wedding bells chime a different tune for couples in their golden years, when companionship and financial considerations often rival unconditional love as the best reason to get married.

But with fixed incomes, ever-changing Social Security and tax laws, and a desire to leave something for the children, marriage after 60 can be a tricky proposition. Experts say it is imperative for people to plan their financial life carefully after retirement and be cautious of every move they make--including marriage.

“There is a demographic trend to live longer and longer,” said Alden S. Gilmore, professor of gerontology at the University of South Florida. “People are underestimating the length of their lives and what their financial needs are going to be.”

As the population grows older and the older population grows larger, more people 65 or older are tying the knot.

More Seniors Wed

The U.S. Division of Vital Statistics estimates about 23,000 women and 41,000 men in that age group were married in 1980, representing a 42% increase over the number of women married in 1960 and a 15% increase for the men.

The Social Security Administration has made conditions more conducive to senior weddings.

Until the late 1970s, widows and widowers lost their Social Security benefits if they married someone else drawing Social Security.

“That was forcing many senior citizens to either live ‘in sin’ or not get married,” said Bill Loman, a Social Security spokesman in Tampa, where 30% of the population is retired. “They couldn’t financially afford to get married.”

But a change in the law in 1979 allowed widows and widowers to continue drawing their own Social Security benefits after remarriage.

However, according to Gilmore, who teaches courses on the economic issues of aging, another recent Social Security change throws up a similar roadblock and could encourage older couples to cast aside wedding vows.

If a married couple earns $32,000 or more in annual income, as much as 50% of their Social Security benefits are taxable. A single person can earn as much as $25,000 without having Social Security benefits taxed.

The implications of the new policy are not apparent. The Bureau of the Census estimates that only 3% of 65-or-older couples who lived together in 1984, when the policy took effect, were not married. Because such figures were not compiled in past years, there is little chance for comparison.

Nevertheless, Social Security officials say older marriages should be affected little if at all.

“(The law) hits roughly only about 10% of the 36 million people on Social Security, and usually Social Security benefits aren’t a big portion of your income if you’re in that bracket anyway,” Loman said. “It would probably be fairly irrelevant to people in those income brackets to take drastic steps like getting a divorce or living together without getting married.”

But such steps could be attractive to lower-income elderly people, for Supplemental Security Income as well as food stamps remain more rewarding and available for non-married senior citizens.

Family Considerations

And then there are the children.

“Men and women beyond 65 who are in their second marriages elect to get married as much for companionship--to have somebody around, somebody to talk to--as anything else,” Gilmore said. “They often have accumulated small but significant estates and want their children to get it.

“I’ve run into several situations recently where a man and woman agreed to marry but also agreed to not fully disclose to each other what they each have.”