Marriage, divorce, and widowhood each represent significant events in the lives of anyone who has ever been married, but they especially are prevalent among the older population. Older adults have rich marital histories that reflect both partnership and loss over their lifetime, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report entitled, “Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2016” that became available on April 22, 2021. Divorce is not the only marital disruption that older adults face, however, because they also disproportionately constitute a large percentage of those who become widows or widowers in a given year. Among adults age 15 or older who became widowed in the preceding 12 months, 71% of men and 69% of women were 65 or older, although this age group comprises only 19% of all individuals in the 15 or older age group. Widowhood is particularly common among older women compared to older men due to differences in life expectancies. Women on average live longer than men. Among those 75 years or older who had ever married, 58% of women and 28% of men had experienced the death of a spouse in their lifetime, making this stage of life particularly difficult. The proportion of individuals who currently are widowed is relatively lower than for those widowed at one point because some respondents who lost a spouse eventually remarried, becoming "currently married" instead of "currently widowed." Nonetheless, differences between the sexes persist among those 75 years or older: 54% of women and 20% of men were currently widowed at the time of interview.
Women in particular face major challenges in being able to live with independence and dignity as they age. With longer lives, higher rates of disability and chronic health problems and lower incomes than men on average, many women need long-term care services without having the resources to pay for them. Apart from their own health problems, some women also serve as primary providers of long-term care for an older relative. The vast majority of both paid formal long-term care workers and unpaid informal caregivers are women. Millions of older women cannot afford to pay for long-term care services because of low income. A major factor affecting income is marital status. Married couples have higher incomes than single persons. Older women are much more likely than older men to live alone, meaning that they have no other individual in their household to help with daily activities and pay for services to address unmet health and health-related social needs.
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