Does Marriage Make You Wealthier?

There are certainly psychological and social benefits to marriage. The love and support we give to and receive from our spouse helps us to grow and become better people. Society as a whole is enriched by the commitment of marriage and everything that comes with it.

Some would even say that marriage corrolates to increased wealth and other economic benefits, as well. Ashley McGuire at Acculturated wonders why her generation of Millenials hasn’t bought into the idea of an economic incentive to get married.

Here are two points that stand out for me in her analysis.

First, she shows how millennial’s are ignoring marriage to the detriment of their financial health:

So you’d think that if research shows there is something that could be a surefire way of improving their economic lot, they would grab hold of it like a life preserver. Well, you’d be wrong. In fact, research has shown marriage to be responsible for the significant creation of wealth — yet millennials don’t seem interested.

Then she shows how Millennials can help secure financial health of their children through marriage:

My favorite stat? Marriage drops a child’s odds of falling into poverty by 82 percent. Wind and repeat. Eighty-two percent. Yet a recent Pew report suggests that a likely one in four millennials will never marry and that millennials are incredibly likely to say, “marriage is becoming obsolete” and rank “being a good parent” as a higher priority than “having a successful marriage.”

Marriage is a prime driver of the life insurance business. People get married, and simply out of love want to take care of their spouse. Life insurance is a tangible expression of that love. I have expedited many claims, and I have seen firsthand the impact a life insurance benefit can have on a surviving spouse – both financially, and very much emotionally. When people get a nice-sized check, they of course are glad they can pay their bills with the money. Yet of much more importance is the realization of just how much their dearly departed one had cared for them.