Retirement Savings Challenges for Women
What do you imagine when you think about retirement? More time with family and friends, traveling, spending time on personal interests? We all hope to have a healthy and comfortable retirement doing the things we love – and that takes planning.
For women, it can take even more planning. That’s because while women have more opportunities than ever before, they often face unique obstacles that can make saving for retirement a challenge. Women generally live longer than men,, which means they might have to stretch their retirement dollars further. In addition, women generally have lower lifetime earnings which can have a significant impact on their retirement savings, Social Security benefits and pensions.
The good news is that you hold the key to your own financial success. Here are there steps every women should take to plan for retirement:
- Estimate how much annual income you think you’ll need in retirement. Try to list all your expenses and think about how those expenses will change over time, as you transition into retirement.
- Find out how much income you might expect from Social Security and/or an employer pension. Your Social Security statement will show your estimated monthly retirement benefits at different retirement ages, based on your current earnings record. You can access your statement online at the Social Security website www.ssa.gov
- Look at the gap between your estimated retirement expenses and your expected Social Security and pension income. Any gap will need to be funded by your own personal savings and investments. For women that can be challenging. Women tend to spend fewer years in the workforce and often earn less than men.
The number one thing you can do is start saving now. Set a savings goals that you can work toward and keep track of your progress. If you’re in the workforce, a good place to start is your employer’s retirement plan – such as a 401K. Your contributions come directly out of your paycheck and are deposited into your retirement account automatically. It’s like putting your retirement savings on auto-pilot. If you need additional savings options consider an IRA.
As you save keep your eye on the prize: a financially comfortable retirement. While there might be a few bumps along the way, saving as much as you can now and knowing what you can expect from Social Security could help you get there.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
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