Retirement Information for Women
Women are living longer and enjoying more active senior years than ever before. Unfortunately, just as this door to unprecedented leisure time is opening up, the traditional means of funding retirement -- Social Security and pension plans -- are becoming less able to meet retirees' needs.
The Social Security Administration has warned that "unless many Americans increase their personal savings rates, they may retire with inadequate retirement assets. But while Americans in general are not saving enough for retirement, women will feel the most impact from this. Women need to make sure they're saving enough outside of an employer retirement plan.
Obstacles to a secure retirement abound for women. In addition to a longer life expectancy:
- On average, women still make less than their male counterparts.
- More than 25% of working women are employed in part-time positions.
- Time out of the work force reduces pension benefits. Women typically have fewer working years to fund their retirement accounts because of time spent out of the work force to care for children, parents or other family members. Average time off for women is 11.5 years, compared to 16 months for men.
Research conducted found that fewer than half the women surveyed felt confident that they were saving enough for their retirement. Ironically, this is not from a lack of skill or resources. Rather, in trying to balance multiple priorities, women traditionally assign second or third place to financial planning issues like investments and retirement.
Psychologically, women have what it takes when it comes to investing. They:
- Set financial goals
- Do their homework before making decisions
- Admit it if they don't completely understand
- Ask for help, choose a personal financial advisor
It's never too early -- or too late -- to get started. For more information on how you can prepare for retirement, contact your financial advisor.
* Source: Social Security Administration Office of Research & Statistics.