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What are the financial pros and cons of marriage?
In other cases, being married can yield a tax “bonus,” where couples pay fewer taxes as a result of their wedded status. This is particularly true for couples with one working spouse and one stay-at-home spouse. According to TurboTax’s website, “The more unequal two spouses' incomes, the more likely that combining them on a joint return will pull some of the higher-earner's income into a lower bracket. That's when the marriage bonus occurs.”Pro: Unemployed? You can still have an IRA
To invest in an individual retirement account or IRA you typically need to have earned income. There is an exception, however, for married people. A spousal IRA is designed to let a working spouse make contributions on behalf of a non-working husband or wife. So if you choose to be a stay-at-home parent during your marriage or you lose your job, you can still stay active with retirement savings.
Pro: You can piggyback on benefits
If you don’t have access to a group health insurance plan, you may be able to take advantage of a spouse’s employer-sponsored health care. Many of these group plans allow spouses to be added to the policy and receive equal access to health care benefits. There may be an additional fee for adding a spouse, but it’s often cheaper than buying an individual policy directly from the marketplace.
Additionally, as a legally married individual you may qualify for spousal Social Security benefits. You may claim benefits once your spouse has filed for his or her own benefits and is at least 62 years old, according to Jon Robertson, a CFP® with Abacus Planning Group in Columbia, S.C. Spousal benefits are generally 50 percent of the full Social Security benefit if the spouse files at his or her “full retirement age” (generally 66 or 67, depending on when you were born).
“You are eligible for spousal benefits even if you have never worked,” says Robertson. “This can be a huge win for a spouse who had a low income or who did not pay enough into Social Security to be eligible based on his or her own earnings.”
Pro: The law may protect you if your spouse dies
Estate planning is important in every marriage, but if your spouse suddenly passes away without a will, as the surviving spouse your state’s intestacy laws may still allow you to claim certain assets that, say, were solely owned by your spouse. “Our society has some built-in protections for married couples,” says Robertson. “If you aren’t married, the rules of intestacy will not apply and you will inherit no money unless your partner has a will directing assets to you.”
« Back
What are the financial pros and cons of marriage?
In other cases, being married can yield a tax “bonus,” where couples pay fewer taxes as a result of their wedded status. This is particularly true for couples with one working spouse and one stay-at-home spouse. According to TurboTax’s website, “The more unequal two spouses' incomes, the more likely that combining them on a joint return will pull some of the higher-earner's income into a lower bracket. That's when the marriage bonus occurs.”Pro: Unemployed? You can still have an IRA
To invest in an individual retirement account or IRA you typically need to have earned income. There is an exception, however, for married people. A spousal IRA is designed to let a working spouse make contributions on behalf of a non-working husband or wife. So if you choose to be a stay-at-home parent during your marriage or you lose your job, you can still stay active with retirement savings.
Pro: You can piggyback on benefits
If you don’t have access to a group health insurance plan, you may be able to take advantage of a spouse’s employer-sponsored health care. Many of these group plans allow spouses to be added to the policy and receive equal access to health care benefits. There may be an additional fee for adding a spouse, but it’s often cheaper than buying an individual policy directly from the marketplace.
Additionally, as a legally married individual you may qualify for spousal Social Security benefits. You may claim benefits once your spouse has filed for his or her own benefits and is at least 62 years old, according to Jon Robertson, a CFP® with Abacus Planning Group in Columbia, S.C. Spousal benefits are generally 50 percent of the full Social Security benefit if the spouse files at his or her “full retirement age” (generally 66 or 67, depending on when you were born).
“You are eligible for spousal benefits even if you have never worked,” says Robertson. “This can be a huge win for a spouse who had a low income or who did not pay enough into Social Security to be eligible based on his or her own earnings.”
Pro: The law may protect you if your spouse dies
Estate planning is important in every marriage, but if your spouse suddenly passes away without a will, as the surviving spouse your state’s intestacy laws may still allow you to claim certain assets that, say, were solely owned by your spouse. “Our society has some built-in protections for married couples,” says Robertson. “If you aren’t married, the rules of intestacy will not apply and you will inherit no money unless your partner has a will directing assets to you.”
« Back
What are the financial pros and cons of marriage?
In other cases, being married can yield a tax “bonus,” where couples pay fewer taxes as a result of their wedded status. This is particularly true for couples with one working spouse and one stay-at-home spouse. According to TurboTax’s website, “The more unequal two spouses' incomes, the more likely that combining them on a joint return will pull some of the higher-earner's income into a lower bracket. That's when the marriage bonus occurs.”Pro: Unemployed? You can still have an IRA
To invest in an individual retirement account or IRA you typically need to have earned income. There is an exception, however, for married people. A spousal IRA is designed to let a working spouse make contributions on behalf of a non-working husband or wife. So if you choose to be a stay-at-home parent during your marriage or you lose your job, you can still stay active with retirement savings.
Pro: You can piggyback on benefits
If you don’t have access to a group health insurance plan, you may be able to take advantage of a spouse’s employer-sponsored health care. Many of these group plans allow spouses to be added to the policy and receive equal access to health care benefits. There may be an additional fee for adding a spouse, but it’s often cheaper than buying an individual policy directly from the marketplace.
Additionally, as a legally married individual you may qualify for spousal Social Security benefits. You may claim benefits once your spouse has filed for his or her own benefits and is at least 62 years old, according to Jon Robertson, a CFP® with Abacus Planning Group in Columbia, S.C. Spousal benefits are generally 50 percent of the full Social Security benefit if the spouse files at his or her “full retirement age” (generally 66 or 67, depending on when you were born).
“You are eligible for spousal benefits even if you have never worked,” says Robertson. “This can be a huge win for a spouse who had a low income or who did not pay enough into Social Security to be eligible based on his or her own earnings.”
Pro: The law may protect you if your spouse dies
Estate planning is important in every marriage, but if your spouse suddenly passes away without a will, as the surviving spouse your state’s intestacy laws may still allow you to claim certain assets that, say, were solely owned by your spouse. “Our society has some built-in protections for married couples,” says Robertson. “If you aren’t married, the rules of intestacy will not apply and you will inherit no money unless your partner has a will directing assets to you.”