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All
of us would like to think we will enjoy
a comfortable retirement, but if you are
a woman you might be significantly more
nervous than your male peers about life
as a retiree. This fear may not be
entirely justified, but, in any case,
you can greatly improve your outlook for
retirement by understanding where you
are now and how to get where you want to
go.
But first, you may have to
overcome both fear and a financial
gender gap. Consider these findings from
recent surveys conducted by Harris
Interactive:
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Forty-six percent of the women
surveyed said they worry about
losing all their money and becoming
destitute. Surprisingly, this figure
rises to 48 percent among women with
incomes of $100,000 or more.
-
Women were almost twice as likely as
men to worry about money and to
doubt their capacity to invest and
plan for the future.
-
Only 10 percent of women said they
feel quite secure about their
finances.
These figures, while
disturbing, at least partially reflect
some basic realities of women's lives.
First, women typically outlive men by
nearly seven years, according to the
U.S. National Center for Health
Statistics, and more years of life mean
more expenses. Also, women drop out of
the work force for an average of 12
years to care for young children or
aging parents, according to the Older
Women's League, a research and advocacy
group. This time away from the workforce
results in women accumulating much less
money in their employer-sponsored
retirement plans.
Of course, if you are
married, many of your financial assets
are likely commingled with those of your
husband. But that does not mean that you
can abdicate responsibility for your
financial future. Some 80 percent to 90
percent of today's women will be solely
responsible for their own finances at
some point in their lives, according to
the National Center for Women and
Retirement.
What can you do to boost
your confidence in your financial
management skills? For starters, take a
close look at all potential sources of
retirement income: Social Security,
savings, investments and retirement plan
distributions. Estimate about how much
you might have available for your
retirement years.
Next, try to envision your
ideal retirement lifestyle and put a
price tag on it. For example, if you
would like to continuously travel the
world when you retire, you are probably
going to need more money from your
retirement funds than your neighbor who
wants to stay home, pursue hobbies and
possibly even open a small business.
It is not always easy to
plan, save and invest for retirement.
That's why you may want to consider
working with an experienced financial
professional, someone who knows your
risk tolerance, time horizon and
long-term goals, and who can recommend
the appropriate investments and
strategies.
Learn as much as you can
about every aspect of your financial
situation. You will boost your
confidence about having sufficient
resources for retirement, and you will
probably enjoy it more when you get
there. |
