There are some statistics floating around the Internet that the average age of a widow is 55 (I was widowed at 54.) I just can't believe that number, and certainly have not met many young widows. Most are decades older than I. (I am not connected to the military, where there are probably many more women who lost their spouses at an early age.)
Was I simply oblivious to the losses that surrounded me? I don't think so.
According to a report cited in a Social Security Administration (SSA) working paper, in 1998:
Obviously there are a lot more widows than there are widowers. In my age group, more than 5 times as many. Overall, almost 10 times as many.
"Because they live longer, women are more likely than men to lose a spouse. Roughly 34% of women 65 and older were widows in 2016, compared wtih about 12% of men, according to the Census Bureau (You're a Widow, Now What Do You Do?)
In terms of statistics (U.S. Census Bureau 2008):
So clearly widows and widowers under the age of 64 are in the minority, as you would expect.
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