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Why don't more wives demand their own retirment account?

Posted on 7/21/17 at 11:35 am
Posted by baldona
Florida
Member since Feb 2016
20518 posts
Posted on 7/21/17 at 11:35 am
The story from the OT got me thinking here, but why don't more women/ wives/ spouse that doesn't work demand their own retirement/ savings/ investment accounts?

Frankly my wife is to blame also. But I contribute basically half of our retirement savings into her wn account whether she knows it or not. She is half owner of my business so she gets half into her own SEP IRA and then I also do a Roth for both of us. If for no other reasons the extra tax deferment.

You hear about all these women married to millionaires with essentially 0 to their name at age 50+ when they are divorced. At the age of 60+ is much much worse because they should be able to retire on just their own account! With all due respect to them, they are idiots to not demand their own investments.

So with all the movements we have, why is this not pushed by feminism more?

Posted by Mingo Was His NameO
Brooklyn
Member since Mar 2016
25455 posts
Posted on 7/21/17 at 11:46 am to
A large portion of the country doesn't save for retirement/understand investments. The ones that do understand this concept are not going to be stay at home spouses.
Posted by Oenophile Brah
The Edge of Sanity
Member since Jan 2013
7540 posts
Posted on 7/21/17 at 1:22 pm to
Are you talking about a tax cut targeted to high income workers?

Guess you don't watch the news much???

Divorce rulings essentially split the assets so what's the point?
Posted by Weekend Warrior79
Member since Aug 2014
16467 posts
Posted on 7/21/17 at 3:30 pm to
If set-up properly, as a business owner you have a lot more flexibility on how much you can put aside for tax deferment purposes. W-2 earners (and many specialty 1099 earners) cannot set-up retirement accounts for their wives, and they do not receive the benefit of setting up an IRA for the wife if she does not earn income.

You may be overlooking the part of the tax code that says the $5,500 limit is also contingent on that individual earning more than the $5,500. If they do not earn the income, they cannot receive the tax deferment benefit.

I am not a tax accountant/lawyer, but I do know if you are a business owner, there are ways around that rule. I just do not know what they are (I'm sure it has to do with implying that she earns a portion of the income from the business or listing her as an owner).
Posted by wfallstiger
Wichita Falls, Texas
Member since Jun 2006
11571 posts
Posted on 7/21/17 at 6:14 pm to
Structured my pension so that wife continues to receive after my death. We both have equal amounts in IRAs. She does.
Posted by hungryone
river parishes
Member since Sep 2010
11987 posts
Posted on 7/21/17 at 7:04 pm to
I know this board (well, this whole site) is mostly men, but I think your initial assumption--that most nonworking spouses don't have their own funds--is an antiquated one. Perhaps this is true among boomer & older women, but every damn GenX woman I know is either stacking her own cash, squirreling away her spouse's money, or otherwise planning for a future WITHOUT social security. We've pretty much all been told, since the first moments of adulthood, that the social security system is gonna fail before we retire, unless it is radically restructured. Whether or not this comes to pass, just the thought of it has led to a hyper focus on retirement savings among people my age, including women.

I don't hear "all about" women married to wealthy men who end up with nothing....I hear about women ending up with 1/2 of the assets b/c they have documented their contributions to household upkeep, child rearing, career support, etc. But I live in a community property state whose judges still tend to favor women a bit in divorce settlements....YMMV in other states w/o community property.
Posted by tiger91
In my own little world
Member since Nov 2005
36744 posts
Posted on 7/21/17 at 7:16 pm to
I work part time and am a wife/mother of 3. We each have retirement accounts although sad to say I'm financially stupid on that level of finances. I try to understand but my brain doesn't wrap around it. He's a good businessman/financially smart and I trust what he does. Some will call that dumb but it is what it is. We're doing quite well for ourselves and are on track to meet our retirement goals.
This post was edited on 7/21/17 at 7:18 pm
Posted by MSTiger33
Member since Oct 2007
20403 posts
Posted on 7/23/17 at 8:53 am to
I see it all of the time. Always recommend our clients retitle assets into the name of the spouse or set up TIC joint accounts.
Posted by crazycubes
Member since Jan 2016
5256 posts
Posted on 7/23/17 at 12:18 pm to
quote:

You hear about all these women married to millionaires with essentially 0 to their name at age 50+ when they are divorced
if they were married to millionaires, they are entitled to half of what was earned during the marriage. After the divorce, they should have more than zero.
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