Help your wife plan her widowhood

5. Fund a spousal IRA

Husbands, if their wives don't work, ought to consider a spousal individual retirement account or a Roth IRA for their wives, Herschler said.

6. Delay taking Social Security

Another way to increase Social Security benefits is to delay taking those benefits. For instance, a husband could increase his Social Security checks by 5.5% to 8% per year by waiting until age 70. Of course, couples would need to find ways to replace that income during the "bridge period."

A Prudential Retirement research report suggests older Americans could withdraw money from their IRAs to replace the delayed Social Security income.

The big benefit of postponing Social Security is this: A widow or widower, at full retirement age or older, generally receives 100% of the worker's basic benefit amount, plus the delayed retirement credits, according to the Social Security Administration.

"Social Security has undergone significant changes that make the value of delaying the receipt of Social Security benefits greater than in the past," according to the Prudential Retirement report.

"Specifically, the increase in the full retirement age and delayed retirement credits can result in significantly greater benefits from delaying Social Security. . . . With the additional benefits of survivor protection, inflation adjustments, low expenses and customization options available, delaying Social Security (for at least one member of a retiring couple) and taking income from personal retirement savings during the 'bridge period' become a very efficient strategy of providing retirement income."

7. Consider buying a deferred annuity

A deferred annuity may be worth it if there's concern that the surviving spouse would have difficulty managing investments to generate the stream of income necessary to support her standard of living, said Ernst & Young's Roy.

Due care would need to be exercised in selecting the appropriate product to ensure that it fit appropriately within the couple's larger retirement planning strategy. It's also important that the spouse understands the product, its benefits and its potential pitfalls.

8. Look at asset titles, beneficiary designations

Retitling of assets may reduce the time and costs associated with probate and, if done correctly, could play a role in ensuring that each spouse took advantage of his or her respective estate-tax credit.

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An effective estate planning strategy is best implemented with the assistance of an attorney and the couple's financial planner, Roy said. Also, review beneficiary designations to be certain they reflect current intentions and are coordinated with will and trust documents.

9. Call in an expert

Let's face it: Some people cannot, do not and will not try to educate themselves on matters of financial well-being, McClatchy said. If that describes a wife, her husband must realize this and start working with a financial professional in order to make sure his surviving spouse would have some financial continuity.

That means the surviving spouse would be able to turn to someone to help guide her on important financial issues. A good adviser works with clients to categorize all important documents that spouses will need and walks couples through an early-death scenario to ensure all bases are covered.

10. Build a social network

Spouses should help each other create social networks. It would help a widow to have a network of knowledgeable and trusted friends to rely upon, McClatchy said.

This network ought to contain individuals familiar with financial concepts. Unfortunately, some bad financial advice has come from well-meaning but financially ignorant friends, McClatchy said.

This article was reported and written by Robert Powell for MarketWatch.

Updated Sept. 15, 2009

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