Advice to Gay Couples Nearing Retirement: Get Married

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-25/advice-to-gay-couples-nearing-retirement-get-married.html


Plaintiffs in the Virginia same-sex marriage case Carol Schall, (2nd R) and Mary

If you're a gay couple who have been together for several decades and are nearing retirement, get married.

That's the simple advice that emerges from a new book by James Lange, a certified public accountant and attorney who specializes in retirement and estate planning. Of course love and feelings should dictate your decision first, but if you're looking at the financial side of things, then the balance has shifted in favor of marriage since the Supreme Court decision a year ago abolishing the Defense of Marriage Act, Lange argues.

"I hate to be that mercenary, not recognizing the value of love, but that's the financial truth," he said in an interview. "I want to scream to gay couples who've been in long-term relationships for a very long time: `Hey dummy, protect your partner and get married!'"

In "Retire Secure For Same-Sex Couples," Lange explains why marriage would benefit an aging gay couple: higher Social Security benefits, avoidance of inheritance taxes, more room to shelter income in individual retirement accounts. Combining all the benefits now available under favorable laws and rules, a married gay couple's assets can exceed those of an unmarried couple by $2 million at age 100, assuming they both started at the same financial point, Lange shows.