Updated remarriage contingency deductions for widowed South Africans

Abstract

Where a widowed person has a legal claim for support following the death of their spouse, their compensation may be reduced to allow for the possibility of remarriage. This reduction, known as a remarriage contingency, accounts for both the probability of remarriage and the change in financial status on remarriage. The only South African tables available are viewed as outdated and focus only on widows. This research uses data from the National Income Dynamics Survey to find updated remarriage contingencies for South African widows and widowers. The data indicate that age and race may influence the remarriage probabilities although this result may have been influenced by poor income and child data. The remarriage contingencies calculated were lower than the old tables for widowed whites and younger coloureds but higher for widowed Africans, Asians and older coloureds. The remarriage contingencies calculated were high relative to the general post-settlement contingency of 15% suggesting that there may still be scope for an explicit remarriage contingency.