Women & Financial planning

February 2020 – Women need to accumulate more for retirement. Besides all the common challenges faced by most everyone, women face additional challenges unique to them. Women typically live 5+ years longer than men. This means more retirement years and health related expenses to fund. And, if married, what happens if their spouse’s own health related needs drain the family resources? While higher education and thus better paying career options have increased many women’s incomes, many still earn less. This compounded by their need to take time from work (or retire early) to care for children or their own or spouse’s elderly parents, often greatly diminishes women’s ability to ensure they have sufficient assets for retirement. One further challenge is that women often have a lower risk tolerance when investing. This frequently leads to choosing investments which offer low returns that do not keep up with inflation, let alone grow to meet their future needs. Everyone needs to better understand the long term consequences of the financial choices they make. Getting good professional advice and increasing your own understanding of at least basic financial related issues will significantly improve your ability to live well and enjoy a comfortable retirement.