Not all retirement planning is created equal. Retirement planning for women comes with its own set of challenges — and the opportunity to save more through proper planning.

Planning your financial future can be complicated. Every financial journey is unique and includes important personal choices that have significant benefits and consequences.

That’s why we partner with our clients to provide the care, tools and experience required to help them achieve their financial goals. Often, those goals are different for women than they are for men.

If your retirement plan hasn’t been adjusted to consider the unique factors facing women, we encourage you to review these four major challenges affecting retirement planning for women.

  1. Financial Self-Reliance

As a woman, you have a 90% chance of becoming financially self-reliant at some point in your life. Some women divorce or become widowed, while other women marry late in life or choose to never marry at all[1]. But at some point, most women take the reigns of their financial journey, by force or by choice. Being able to confidently manage your finances can significantly affect your financial future — and more importantly, steer you toward financial independence.

  1. Longer Lifespan

Women also live longer, statistically speaking. By age 65, men have a 50% chance of living to age 85, while their female spouses live to age 88. There’s even a 50% chance that one spouse will live to age 92 or older[2]. A longer lifespan means women may need to save more for a longer retirement, as well as the long-term effects of health care costs.

  1. Lower Earnings

Full-time working women earn, on average, 77 cents to every dollar a man earns[3]. Earning less means you also may be saving less along the way. It also means you may have less to invest, a smaller company pension, and a smaller Social Security check.

  1. Less Time in the Workforce

Women spend an average of 15% of their career out of the workforce. Why? Typically, they’re taking care of children or aging parents[4]. What does that mean for you? It can translate into lower total earnings in your career, as well as decreased contributions to corporate retirement plans.

If you don’t have a plan for retirement that fits your unique needs and lifestyle, it’s imperative that you take action now. Challenges are only challenges as long as they run unchecked, but with a plan, challenges can quickly become just another opportunity to plan for the best.

You can live completely on your terms — as long as you have the financial plan to guide and support you along the way. Vance Wealth is proud to offer the care, tools and resources to help you make it happen. To learn more about retirement planning for women, please contact Vance Wealth at 888-775-0950.

About Vance Wealth

Since 2003, Vance Wealth has served as a premier financial planning practice passionately committed to helping clients and families succeed at every step of their financial journey. Serving Southern California, the practice delivers innovative and comprehensive wealth management strategies precisely customized to each client’s goals and needs. Our mission is to help our clients and families succeed at every step of their financial journey, inspiring them to achieve more. We are committed to stand by their sides to help make the difficult decisions, celebrate life’s joys and be a trusted partner for every moment in between. To learn more, call 661-775-0950, email info@vancewealth.com or visit VanceWealth.com. To keep up with more exciting news, follow @VanceWealth on Facebook.

Sources

  1. Wise Women Money Quiz: How Money Wise Are You, Cynthia Fick, 2011.
  2. Annuity 2000 Mortality Table.
  3. Families Can’t Afford the Gender Wage Gap, Center for American Progress, April 20, 2010.
  4. Tomorrow’s Money, National Association of State Treasurers Foundation, 2011.

The views expressed in this commentary are subject to change based on market and other conditions. These documents may contain certain statements that may be deemed forward‐looking statements. Please note that any such statements are not guarantees of any future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Any projections, market outlooks, or estimates are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed as indicative of actual events that will occur.

Posted in Retirement