How to Protect a Spouse
May 11, 2026
Seeing to the needs of a spouse is a top priority in a marriage or relationship. Once our children are grown and we’ve retired, it assumes even greater importance.
After reading my recent article saying that tougher economic times were coming for seniors, a reader got in touch and asked to speak with me about his efforts to create a financially secure future for his wife. His compelling motivation became clear after he told me that she is 69 and he is 85.
We chatted on a video call that he permitted me to record. His only condition was that I do not identify him. As the call progressed, it became clear that he was the expert, not me.
Dave and Susan, as I’ll call them, are both healthy and active. Susan is a retired nurse practitioner; Dave made a good living as a personal injury attorney. Their nest egg is north of $2 million.
Investment Strategy
“I’ve invested over the years in dividend stocks,” Dave said. “All the companies that I own have increased or increase their dividends every year, pretty much every year. They’re all solid companies. They’re all companies that have continued to pay their dividends for longer than 20 or even 50 years – some of them more than that. All I own in terms of equities are dividend stocks.” Dave also owns Treasury bills, and both have IRAs.
Depression Proof
The Great Depression was America’s darkest financial experience and is Dave’s guide to worst-case investment strategies.
He used artificial intelligence tools and his own financial advisor and asked, “What is the best combination of assets during financial crisis?”
The AI “said the best combination during a financial crisis or recession generally includes a diversified portfolio with a focus on defensive sector stocks and funds investing in companies that provide essential services and goods.” Within those essential services, Dave has focused on utilities, health, and basic consumer goods.
“These companies tend to perform better during economic downturn, due to persistent demand,” he reasons. “Second is government bonds and high-quality corporate bonds. Next are precious metals, real estate and cash.”
“And then I asked another question: During the Depression, did any company continue to pay dividends? And if so, what companies?” The answer included Black and Decker, Exxon Mobil, Coca Cola, Proctor and Gamble, PPG Industries, Colgate Palmolive, General Mills, Johnson Controls, and Eli Lilly.
“That was pretty interesting,” Dave said, “because I already had some of some of those. I don’t have them all, but I do have some of them.”
Income
Dave’s goal was to have about $120,000 a year in gross income to live on. “I’ve achieved that goal,” he said, using the interest income from the T-bills, required IRA distributions, and his Social Security. Susan will file for her Social Security when she turns 70 next year, when her monthly benefits will peak. “That’s what we live on currently.”
Next Steps
“My objective is security for her,” he said. We’re fine now, “but the reality is, at my age, you know, how many more years am I going to be totally independent?”
“We’ve been looking around (at area retirement communities), and we’ve been talking and we’re looking now at probably moving within the next two to three years to an adult living place. We looked at several, and we’ve kind of settled on one. I like the atmosphere. I like what they have. I like everything about it.”
Dave is concerned that most retirement communities, including the one the couple likes, require people to be able to live independently to be admitted. “I didn’t want to wind up where, like, my wife says, something bad happens, and we can’t go anywhere because of your condition,” he said. “And at the age of 85 you think, okay, all I need to do is fall the wrong way, or hit my head, or, who knows?”
Dave said his wife is not from Richmond and has few local friends and no relatives. “She wanted to be in a community where there would be lots of social activities and she would meet people and all that.” They are already reaching out to make friends at the new community.
The couple built a new home in 2014, and it has appreciated nicely. The net proceeds of that sale, including up to $500,000 that would be exempt from income taxes, will pay for their new place.
“We did the math, and that’s really important. Look at what you’re paying. Go down the list of what it cost you a year to live there and break it down into each month. And when we looked at that, we’re like, ‘Okay, well, this looks like a good deal.’”
I think Dave tells a wise story. Please share your ideas for protecting your spouse. Thanks.
Stay safe, be kind, and don’t look away.
I am the principal author of Simon & Schuster’s Get What’s Yours series of books about Medicare, Social Security, and health care. Linked In.
Thank you for the insightful discussion. I have a similar concern in my family because of a 'trophy' spouse gap. My reference is an IRS term for a marriage where there is a 10+ year gap. One concern I have is that one spouse would significantly impact the portfolio if Long Term care costs become an issue. Neither spouse would want to bankrupt the other...even a healthy nest egg of $2m+ may not be enough.
I did not see discussion of Life Insurance with a LTC rider where you can tap the death benefit for LTC expenses. Has anyone done the math on this question to determine at what size nest egg one would need where LTC expenses would not impact a portfolio that needed to last 10+ years longer because of the age gap? At some size of nest egg (Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos) the cost can be covered without impacting care for the younger spouse. But what is that general size?