Experiencing a period of financial independence during your life, because of divorce, widowhood, or the choice not to marry, makes financial planning an important part of long-term security. Yet the financial planning industry has been slow to catch up to serving women in this situation.
Single women retirement planning is a distinct discipline, yet most resources still default to couple-centric frameworks. The standard retirement playbook was built around couples: dual incomes, shared Social Security strategies, spousal IRAs, and a built-in caregiver if health declines. If you’re a single woman over 50, that playbook wasn’t built for your life.
A financial plan built around your situation focuses on three goals: protecting your current lifestyle, planning for longevity, and preserving what you want to leave as your legacy. In this article, we explain how each piece fits together.
- Women receive, on average, $4,800 less per year in Social Security benefits than men. 1
- More than 25% of working women expect Social Security to be their primary source of retirement income.2
- Single women are 22% less likely to hold a retirement savings account than married or partnered women.3
- Women have a longer average lifespan and higher projected long-term care costs: $171,000 for women compared with $98,000 for men.4
The financial risks single women may face
Understanding where to start is the foundation of retirement planning for single women. Three risks deserve the most attention.
Longevity without an income buffer
Women tend to live longer than men. Female life expectancy in the U.S. was 81.4 years in 2024, compared with 76.5 years for men — a difference of 4.9 years.5 Therefore, your portfolio needs to stretch further. Without a spouse’s income or survivor benefits to supplement your own, your assets must cover a longer horizon, and that requires a deliberate income sequencing strategy from the start.
The Social Security gap
Because Social Security benefits are calculated on lifetime earnings, women tend to receive lower benefits. That’s because women earn less on average and are more likely to leave the workforce for caregiving. Among women aged 65 and older, the average monthly benefit was $1,808 in 2024, compared with $2,215 for men.2 The difference over a 20-year retirement is meaningful.
Care costs without a caregiver at home
Most long-term care for married people is provided by a spouse at no direct cost. As a single woman, you may need to fund paid care independently. That costs can reach $80,000 or more per year for in-home care and more than $115,000 for a private nursing home room.6
Social Security strategies for single women
How you claim Social Security is one of the most consequential financial decisions you’ll make, and the right approach depends on your marital history.
Never married
Since your Social Security benefit is based entirely on your own earnings record, delaying your claim past your full retirement age — up to age 70 — can increase your monthly benefit by approximately 8% per year. For single women in good health with other income sources to draw from in the interim, delaying your claim seeks to improve lifetime income.
Divorced
While overall divorce rates have declined, divorce among older adults remains a significant trend. Nearly 40% of people getting divorced today are age 50 or older.7 If your marriage lasted 10 years or more and you haven’t remarried, you may be entitled to a divorced spouse Social Security benefit of up to 50% of your ex-spouse’s full retirement age benefit, as long as it exceeds your own. If you’ve been divorced for at least two years, you can claim this benefit even if your former spouse hasn’t filed yet. This rule is worth examining carefully with a Mercer Advisors wealth advisor, as many divorced women are unaware it applies to them.7
Widowed
Survivor benefits are among the most valuable tools available. You may claim Social Security survivor benefits as early as age 60 while delaying your own benefit so it can grow until you’re aged 70. This is a sequencing strategy that may result in significantly higher lifetime income, depending on the size of each benefit. A financial plan that models both options explicitly is essential.
Retirement income planning without a spouse
Deliberate sequencing across multiple sources helps build a sustainable income stream as a solo earner. A coordinated approach that spans financial planning and tax planning seeks to reduce unnecessary tax drag and extend portfolio longevity.
Your income stack
Your core retirement income likely draws from Social Security, portfolio withdrawals, and potentially an annuity or pension.
For self-employed single women, a solo 401(k) is a powerful tax-advantaged savings vehicle that allows contributions as both employer and employee and has significantly higher annual limits than a traditional IRA.
Women are more likely than men to describe their investment approach as conservative.8 A deliberate investment strategy and the sequencing of income sources is foundational to solo retirement income planning.
Consider taking distributions from tax-deferred accounts, like traditional IRAs and 401(k)s, in lower-income years before required minimum distributions (RMDs) begin. This can reduce your taxable income in later years and potentially lower Medicare premium surcharges.
The bucket strategy for solo retirees
One effective framework divides your assets into three buckets:
- Near-term bucket of one to two years of cash or cash equivalents for liquidity needs
- Medium-term bucket of moderate-risk investments designed to generate income in years three through 10
- Long-term bucket of growth-oriented investments intended to outpace inflation over 10+ years
This structure seeks to reduce the behavioral risk of selling growth assets during a market downturn, while keeping near-term cash accessible.
RMD planning without a spousal beneficiary
Without a spouse to inherit your IRA, Roth conversion planning becomes especially important. Using lower-income years before RMDs begin at age 73 to convert traditional IRA assets into Roth accounts may help manage the long-term tax impact on your retirement income and estate.
Long-term care and housing planning
Single women who can’t rely on a spouse for unpaid in-home support should consider direct planning for this situation well before it arrives.
Self-funding versus long-term care insurance
For women with enough assets, it isn’t a matter of planning for long-term care — it’s a matter of how to plan for it. Traditional long-term care insurance has become less widely available and more expensive in recent years, with annual premiums for a 65-year-old woman ranging from approximately $5,200 to $7,800, depending on benefit design.9
Hybrid life-LTC policies, which combine a death benefit with a long-term care rider, have become a practical alternative for women who want meaningful coverage without the uncertainty of “use-it-or-lose-it” premiums. The right approach depends on your health, the size of your assets, and your income picture. That’s why it’s best evaluated as part of a comprehensive and tailored financial plan.
Housing in retirement
Where you live has direct consequences for your finances and care options. Downsizing, relocating, or transitioning to a continuing care retirement community are all worth modeling. Your housing decision can affect your investment portfolio, tax situation, and long-term care exposure simultaneously.
Estate planning when you’re the only decision-maker
Estate planning for single women is about more than what happens after you’re gone. It’s about protecting your financial wishes and physical well-being while you’re living.
Healthcare proxy and financial power of attorney
Without a spouse to make decisions on your behalf in a medical emergency, designating a trusted individual as your healthcare proxy and durable financial power of attorney is foundational. These documents should be reviewed regularly, particularly after major life changes.
Beneficiary designations
Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and annuities all transfer by beneficiary designation, not through your will. An outdated designation, whether a former spouse or a beneficiary who has since passed away, can override your intended wishes entirely.
If you’re going through a divorce, update your will, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations before the divorce is finalized. You likely don’t want a future ex-spouse making medical decisions on your behalf or inheriting your assets. Reviewing designations annually is one of the simplest and most impactful steps in a solo financial plan.
Trust structures for single women
A revocable living trust can help your assets transfer efficiently, potentially avoiding probate and ensuring more precise control over how and when they are distributed. For single women with more complex estates — such as real estate or business interests — and possibly charitable intentions, a trust may also provide continuity of management if you become incapacitated.
Choosing a trustee who can manage the tasks according to your estate plan is an important part of estate planning that you should consider carefully. An estate plan should be built in coordination with your investment and tax strategy to seek the most efficient outcome.
Building a plan
A complete financial plan for single women over 50 isn’t simply an investment portfolio. It’s a coordinated strategy across income planning, tax efficiency, estate planning, and insurance solutions that reflect your life and your goals. The risks are real: a longer retirement horizon, a lower Social Security benefit on average, higher projected care costs, and no partner to share the financial load.
But with a purpose-built plan organized around your lifestyle, your longevity, and your legacy, those risks can be manageable. The decisions you make in your 50s and 60s will shape the retirement you experience in your 70s and beyond.
At Mercer Advisors, we’re leading the charge to create better financial outcomes for women.
Our team of specialists in women’s wealth management can help empower you and give you confidence to achieve your financial goals.
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There’s no universal figure, but single women generally need to save more than couples on a per-person basis because all fixed expenses — housing, utilities, insurance — fall on one income. A financial plan built around your specific Social Security benefit, projected long-term care exposure, and desired lifestyle can be factors to consider in your financial planning.
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Never-married women are entirely reliant on their own earnings record. Delaying your claim to age 70 — and using other income sources in the interim — can increase your monthly benefit by up to 32% compared with claiming at full retirement age. The value of delay is especially significant for women with longer life expectancies.
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If your marriage lasted at least 10 years and you are currently unmarried, you may claim up to 50% of your ex-spouse’s full retirement age benefit if it exceeds your own. Your claim has no effect on your former spouse’s benefit or any benefits their current spouse may receive.
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Start by evaluating your current assets and projected retirement income relative to realistic care cost projections. For women with substantial assets, self-funding a portion of care and securing a policy that covers more severe or prolonged scenarios may be more cost-effective than comprehensive traditional long-term care insurance. Timing matters, as premiums increase significantly with age.
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The bucket strategy divides retirement assets into near-, medium-, and long-term pools based on when you’ll need them. For solo retirees, it seeks to reduce the risk of selling growth-oriented investments during a market downturn while keeping near-term cash needs covered without disrupting your long-term portfolio.
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A trusted adult — a sibling, adult child, close friend, or professional fiduciary — can serve in either role. Whoever you choose should understand your values, be comfortable acting under pressure, and ideally not have a large stake in your estate, to minimize potential conflicts of interest.
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Begin with the essentials: a will, healthcare proxy directive, and durable power of attorney. A revocable living trust may be warranted depending on the size and complexity of your estate. Charitable giving, a donor-advised fund, or leaving assets to chosen family members are all options that a comprehensive estate plan can accommodate in a tax-efficient way.
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Look for a fiduciary advisor who takes a comprehensive approach — coordinating investments, tax planning, insurance, and estate planning — and who has direct experience working with single women. At Mercer Advisors, we start with your goals, not your portfolio, and will use your full financial picture as the basis for planning.
- “Social Security Gender Gap Means Women Receive About $4,800 Less in Annual Benefits. What To Know Before Claiming.” CNBC, June 30, 2026.
- “25 Facts About Women’s Retirement Outlook.” Transamerica Institute, November 2025.
- “Facing the Future Solo: Understanding Obstacles for Single Women and Retirement.” Federal Reserve Communities, June 2024.
- “2025 Milliman Long-Term Care Index.” Milliman, Inc., Jan. 21, 2026.
- “Mortality in the United States, 2024.” NCHS Data Brief No. 548, January 2026.
- “Calculate the Cost of Long-Term Care Near You.” CareScout, July 15, 2026.
- “Multiple Gray Divorces: Demographic Trends & Comparisons.” Bowling Green State University, Family Profile No. 22, July 22, 2026.
- “2024 Women & Investing Study.” Fidelity, July 15, 2026.
- “Long-Term Care Insurance Cost Guide: 2025 Premiums.” InsuranceCostGuides, July 15, 2026.
All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the author as of the date of publication and are subject to change. Some of the research and ratings shown in this presentation come from third parties that are not affiliated with Mercer Advisors. The information is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed or warranted by Mercer Advisors. Content, research, tools and stock or option symbols are for educational and illustrative purposes only and do not imply a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell a particular security or to engage in any particular investment strategy.
