A new survey from AARP Financial contains enough motivation for anyone to start preparing for worst case scenarios, including divorce, death of a spouse, and illness of a child. Depressing stuff, but also worth thinking about, since avoiding the topic leads to financial catastrophe on top of the emotional crisis. (As I recently reported, most people have much too little life insurance.)
Here are a few facts from the survey, which interviewed 1,200 adults between the ages of 40 and 79. (For more details, see my colleague Emily Brandon's description.)
Question: How much of an impact did long-term job loss (experienced by 18 percent of respondents) have on the following areas of your life?
Finances, 89 percent
Physical health, 52 percent
Emotional well-being, 80 percent
Relationships with family and friends, 48 percent
Question: How much of an impact did divorce (experienced by 29 percent of respondents) have on the following areas of your life?
Finances, 67 percent
Physical health, 31 percent
Emotional well-being, 72 percent
Relationships with family and friends, 43 percent
Question: How much of an impact did the death of a spouse or life partner (experienced by 10 percent of respondents) have on the following areas of your life?
Finances, 63 percent
Physical health, 48 percent
Emotional well-being, 90 percent
Relationships with family and friends, 59 percent
Question: How much of an impact did the serious illness or disability of your child (experienced by 7 percent of respondents) have on the following areas of your life?
Finances, 75 percent
Physical health, 59 percent
Emotional well-being, 93 percent
Relationships with family and friends, 65 percent
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