Financial planning for women
Oh, really?
“Women don’t really invest. They save.”
“You can’t start a whole new career at your age!”
“You don’t want to do that.”
“She’ll be lost without him.”
8 things every woman should know.
Financial planning for women starts with understanding how the unique economic and cultural challenges women face can impact your financial security and then planning accordingly. Here are a few we think about when developing retirement plans for our female clients.
Let’s start with some hard truths. Women earn less than men. According to Payscale’s 2019 Compensation Research, ”women still make only $0.79 for every dollar men make”. For women of color, the news is worse—earning on average only 74 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Believe us, we don’t like it either.
#1
46% of Millennial women say they are saving 6% of their income in 401Ks. Go Millennials!! If your employer contributes to your 401k, make sure you are taking advantage of the full employer matching contribution.
#2
Women are more likely to be caregivers, which can mean less retirement savings due to gaps in earnings while taking time off to raise children or care for a parent or spouse. Caregivers, we see you and appreciate you!
#3
Women outlive their spouses by an average of 5 years, often using up precious retirement savings for the long-term care of a spouse.
#4
A 65-year-old woman will spend approximately $47,000 more in retirement for health care expenses than her male counterpart.
#5
The average monthly social security retirement benefit for men is approximately $1,518 per month compared with about $1,201 per month for women (Blame points 1 & 3).
#6
According to Transamerica’s 19th Annual Retirement Survey, 32% of women say that they “are not sure” how their retirement savings are invested. We can help you with that.
#7
Women make up the majority of private long-term disability claims (56% women vs. 44% men). You’re also more likely to need long-term care since, on average, women live longer. It’s okay to have mixed feelings about that.
#8
Scary stuff, we know. But here’s some good news. Women are more likely to invest in target-date funds and seek the advice of a professional financial advisor.
Now that you know. Why don’t we talk about what you want to do about it?
How will you spend your retirement?
Maybe your ideal retirement starts with a year of traveling abroad. Followed by a lake house full of family and friends.
Whatever you’re imagining, you’ve probably given some thought to the order in which you’d like those things to unfold.
But have you considered which of your retirement assets you’ll draw from first?
Talk with us about a personal distribution strategy. Because the order in which you draw on your assets could have a significant effect on how long your money will last.
You can do this.
We can help.
Suddenly becoming the financial decision maker in your household can feel overwhelming. Especially if you’re also now the sole provider.
If you’re feeling unsure or don’t know where to start, here’s our advice.
Before you make any decisions about your future, start with a professional review of what is already in place. Know what decisions have already been made on your behalf and how those decisions might impact your financial security.
We can do this for free, which makes at least one decision easy.
Only 14%
of widows said they were making financial decisions by themselves before their spouse died.
86% report having to do so now.
See the report here.
Protect yourself.
Protect your income.
Your financial well being can be affected by many things, not the least of which is your health or the health of someone you love.
Long term care insurance is one way to protect your retirement income and give yourself options should you be the one who needs care in the future.
Talk with a Maven Advisor about whether your plan should include long term care insurance.