Surviving cancer is the outcome everyone hopes for. But survival doesn’t mean that life, work, or finances immediately return to normal.
Much of the conversation during Breast Cancer Awareness Month rightly focuses on awareness, screening, and treatment but for someone diagnosed with breast cancer, the impact can extend well beyond the medical journey.
A serious illness can suddenly change how a person works, earns, spends and plans for the future. Decisions that once seemed straightforward, such as whether to take time off work, use savings or adjust retirement contributions, can become much more complicated when they are being made under emotional and financial pressure.
A diagnosis does not necessarily mean that someone needs to abandon their long-term financial plans. It may, however, mean those plans need to be revisited. For example, someone undergoing treatment may need to temporarily reduce their income, while their household expenses remain largely unchanged. They may need to rethink their monthly budget, postpone a financial goal or change how they draw on their savings.
The challenge is making these decisions without creating a new financial problem further down the line.
The Recovery Number
A Recovery Number is an estimate of the financial resources a woman may need to stay financially stable while recovering from a serious illness, and to rebuild her position afterwards. It moves the question from “can I afford treatment?” to “can I afford the disruption that comes with recovery?”
Working it out means considering lost income during treatment and recovery; medical and recovery-related expenses; household and caregiving costs; existing debt commitments; reduced retirement contributions; the cost of rebuilding emergency savings; and changes to long-term financial goals.
Everyone’s number will be different, shaped by income, dependants, debts, and goals. The value lies in doing the calculation before you need it.
This is where a financial adviser can help. Rather than making reactive decisions, an adviser can help you understand what needs to change now, what can be temporarily adjusted and what should remain on track for the future.
The conversation could include questions such as:
- What does the household actually need each month?
- Which financial commitments are essential, and which can be paused?
- How should existing savings and investments be used?
- What happens to retirement planning if contributions are reduced for a period?
- Which financial goals need to be delayed, rather than abandoned?
- How can a person protect their financial position while focusing on recover
The protection gap
Momentum Life Insurance’s claims data shows that 50.3% of women have critical illness cover but only 15% have income protection. That gap suggests many women may be better prepared for a diagnosis for the long financial recovery that can follow it.
A financial plan shouldn’t end when a claim pays out. After a major health event.
The role of advice is not only to prepare for the worst, but to help you navigate what comes after it. Surviving a serious illness doesn’t necessarily mean returning to the financial position you were in before diagnosis. It means understanding that recovery can affect income, savings, and long-term plans right at the time financial stability matters most.
Knowing your Recovery Number is a different kind of preparedness. A conversation with a financial adviser will help you calculate it, so that your recovery doesn’t come at the expense of your future. A good financial plan should have a future in mind, but it should also be flexible enough to survive the unexpected.
By Cebile Zibi, Head of Trade Marketing at Momentum Advice