“There is also a need to have a conversation with the wider family, to make them aware that if one person dies the survivor is going to have a significant reduction in income and find out if the family could help out.”
In addition, Phil Billlingham, chartered financial planner at Perceptive Planning, encouraged people think what financial products might best provide for a surviving spouse.
Billingham said: “It is prudent for a couple to treat all wealth and assets as family assets in retirement and where there is the choice to buy an annuity a joint life annuity should be the default option.
“Whilst a single life annuity will be the cheapest option, and is usually the first quote you are shown, it does not secure an income for your spouse after you are gone.
“Given the risk of an income shock, a relatively cheap option would be to take out a level term assurance policy. For a non-smoking male aged 60, cover of £100,000 would cost just a pound a day and could be money well spent to provide peace of mind”.
amy.austin@ft.com
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