It will be unprecedented -- women in the United States stand to inherit lots of money from their husbands over the next 25 years, according to a recent report from the research firm Cerruli Associates.

Lots of money, like a total of about $50 trillion dollars, the survey claims.

It's not always true, of course, but generally women outlive men, so the transfer of wealth from husbands to wives has been increasing over the decades, and is expected to accelerate a little.

Men marrying younger women has also contributed to the phenomenon, although that's changing somewhat, according to University of Houston economics professor Dr. Steven Craig, who says much of the increase in wealth among Americans and families is attributable to the rise of 401(k) accounts.

"Y'know, they used to always tell us our house is our most valuable asset, but now for most people their 401(k) is their most valuable asset, not their house," Dr.Craig points out.

There was a time, he says, when people would divert their paycheck savings to corporate-controlled pension funds, but the introduction of the 401(k) plans in 1978 started the consumer rush toward controlling their retirement savings much more than pensions ever allowed -- and then pension plans started to become more and more scarce.

But one important point, he says, is that "because we've put our money in 401(k)s instead of corporations and pensions, a lot more wealth has accumulated in the past decades than in previous years, leaving married couples with lots more money for retirements than in previous generations.

And more control over retirement savings also means it's incumbent upon people to better learn how to handle their money.

But Dr. Craig says the children of these couples won't be too bothered about all this.

"The number of kids sitting around waiting for their inheritance, so they don't have to work is probably very small in number."

San Antonio's First News