Ann Brenoff
Senior Writer/Columnist, The Huffington Post
MIKE THEILER / REUTERS
At 84, award-winning actress Rita Moreno is a product of her own success and upbringing. "I was the artsy one," she said, "and my husband took care of all our finances. It was the Latino way ― the man is in charge of the money." And when her husband of 46 years died four years ago, the order of her world spiraled out of control.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Moreno, who will be featured on Netflix in Norman Lear's Latino remake of his blockbuster hit "One Day At A Time," said her predicament of not understanding her own finances wasn't all that unique given her age and cultural background.
"Many older women who become widowed are in the same boat," she said. She has become a spokeswoman for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' "Life Unscripted" initiative. NAIC does not sell insurance, but rather educates consumers about insurance issues. The program includes advice for all stages of life, but is of special importance to older women, she said.
Moreno said that she was "the traditional wife who did not know much about the household's financial well-being." During her marriage to cardiologist Dr. Leonard Gordon, he was solely responsible for handling the family's financial affairs. After his death, Moreno told HuffPost, she was not only emotionally exhausted, but completely unprepared to take on the complexities of financial planning.