A midlife wedding can be “a complete burst of joy and fun,” as comedian Miranda Hart told the world after learning, at age 51, of her own wedding to Richard Fairs, a 60-year-old divorced father of two.
But middle-aged lovers should clear their rose-colored glasses before tying the knot.
In the worst case scenario, you could lose your pension; other people's children may inherit your money; Your credit score may be lowered and your state benefits may be reduced.
Worse still, your Mr. Right may turn out to be Mr. Wrong – and that could mean all the financial problems that come with a divorce.
In this Money Mail article, we'll look at seven common pitfalls you need to be aware of and how you can protect yourself from the jump.
New Chapter: A midlife wedding is usually a cause for celebration, but there are many financial pitfalls to be aware of
1. You may lose your private widow's pension
If you are a widower and receive a pension from your deceased spouse, it may be withdrawn when you remarry.
This is particularly true for members of some legacy public sector schemes. For example, the Teachers' Pension Scheme rules state: 'Widows', widowers' and civil partners' pensions payable to a member who retired before 1 January 2007 will continue to be subject to termination on remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation of the beneficiary.' . .
Other public sector programs have similar rules. “It's a terrible state of affairs that effectively criminalizes older women who are statistically most likely to receive their spouse's pension,” says Penny Cogher, pensions partner at law firm Irwin Mitchell.
He adds: “There was so much public outcry that the law was changed on this issue for military pensions, but unfortunately not for other public sector programs.”
He adds that individuals should check the situation in their own program to find out whether they will face any financial consequences if they remarry.
Visit your retirement plan's website and read the terms and conditions (each plan is different) or call your retirement plan administrator. You can use the government website to find contact details if you know the name of your employer or pension provider gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details
2. You may receive a lower state pension
Widows and widowers can sometimes inherit a supplement to their new state pension from their deceased spouse.
You may be eligible if you got married before 6 April 2016 and your partner reached State Pension age before that date or died before that date but would have reached State Pension age on or after that date.
Newlyweds: Comedian Miranda Hart got married for the first time at the age of 51
However, if you remarry or start a new civil partnership before reaching retirement age, you will lose your pension entitlement.
Remarrying after retirement age does not affect the State Pension you have already started drawing as a widow or widower.
Steve Webb, former Pensions Secretary and partner at pensions consultancy LCP, says: 'People receiving a State Pension as a widow or widower can remarry without having their entitlements affected. However, those who were due to receive an inherited state pension from their deceased spouse upon retirement will lose this entitlement if they remarry before reaching state pension age.”
Contact the Government Pensions Service on 0800 731 0469 to check your specific situation.
3. You may lose your benefits
If you marry or remarry, register a civil partnership or move in with someone as a couple, this may affect any means-tested benefits you receive, such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support.
Your partner's income is included in your household's overall eligibility assessment.
Notify the office paying your benefits as soon as possible after getting married.
If you are receiving alimony from your ex-partner on your behalf, it may stop, but your child support (also called 'child support') will not be affected.
4. Your children may be denied inheritance
When you marry, your new spouse automatically receives rights to all your personal property and other belongings after your death, plus the first £322,000 of your estate and half of your remaining estate.
Clare Moffat, pensions expert at Royal London, says: “The general rule in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is that a new marriage invalidates any existing wills.”
Make sure you create a new will that reflects your wishes.
Married couples often prepare so-called mirror wills – i.e. identical wills in which they transfer all their assets to each other. However, if one of you marries with children that you would like to inherit, you will have to include provisions in your will.
Otherwise, if you make a new will, leaving everything to your new spouse, and if you die first, he can leave everything to his children, leaving yours with nothing.
Go to gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will to check this.
In Scotland the rules are different. Go to: gov.scot/collections/what-to-do-after-a-death-in-scotland
Trust: If you make a new will, leaving everything to your new spouse, if you die first, he can leave everything to his children, leaving yours with nothing
Private client partner Lisa Spearman, of chartered accountant Mercer & Hole, says: “It is very important that the whole family has full and clear discussions and then creates wills that reflect your wishes and make sure you understand what will happen.”
Harriet Errington, partner at law firm Payne Hicks Beach, adds an additional warning if you help your partner's children. “If, after marriage, you start providing financial support for your partner's children and you die without making adequate financial provision for your dependents, your estate could potentially be exposed to a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 r. – warns.
If you want your spouse to be cared for throughout your life in the event you die before your death, but you want your estate to ultimately pass back to your children, you can specify this in your will.
To do this properly, you will need the advice of a lawyer.
Another option is a prenuptial agreement – an agreement concluded before the wedding regarding the division of finances in the event of separation.
They are not legally binding, but if you both get independent legal advice and explain why you want to divide your property and debts in this way, the divorce court will consider them if your marriage breaks down.
5. Your credit score may be lowered
If you open a checking or savings account – or any other financial product – with your new spouse, your credit information will be linked. This means that if your partner has debts, defaults on repayments or makes other financial mistakes,
this may impact your ability to borrow money.
Your credit details are not automatically combined when you get married, only when you use joint financial products.
Spearman, however, recommends that older couples have at least one joint account to make life easier for the surviving partner in the event of the other's death.
Widows and widowers can inherit their deceased spouse's pension supplement. However, if you remarry before reaching retirement age, you will lose your pension entitlement
“In the event of death, the deceased's bank accounts are blocked until the inheritance is issued,” he says.
“However, the survivor usually has access to joint accounts. It may therefore make sense to have at least one joint account with cash to cover, say, six months of ordinary household bills in the period immediately after death.
When you've recently been bereaved, running out of cash is the one thing you shouldn't worry about.
6. You may pay more tax when you sell your home
Homeowners pay capital gains tax on any profits they make from selling their property – unless they sell the home they live in. However, married couples only have one exemption between them, while two single people have one exemption each.
This means that, for example, two people in a relationship who own their own homes can sell their property without incurring capital gains tax.
However, if a couple were to marry, they could only sell one of the properties without incurring capital gains tax – the other would be treated as the couple's second home and would therefore be subject to capital gains.
If either of you is planning to sell in the near future, it may be worth doing it before the wedding. However, this is a complex tax area and you should seek professional advice before making any changes.
7. Your online fiancé may be fake
The number of later-life marriages has doubled in 20 years – in 2022, 82,912 people over the age of 50 (including around 1,000 over the age of 80) were married in England and Wales.
According to UK Finance, a year later there were 4,160 cases of romance fraud, with £68 million stolen.
Romance scammers especially love bomb older victims – expressing their undying love, showering them with compliments, and pretending to be interested in the smallest details of their lives.
“Often a gang of criminals are working around the clock, so they are breaking news at all hours of the day and night,” warns Sarah Coles, director of personal finance at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown.
He adds: “You should also be careful not to reveal too much information about yourself or turn on your webcam. If at any stage they ask for money or personal information, this should raise alarm. Don't part with anyone.
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