Retirement Planning Dreams

With more and more families going for the dual income, retirement planning for women is that much more important. Retirement planning for women should start as early in life as possible, whether married or single. In truth, women should start their retirement planning as soon as they get their first real job out of college, if not even before that.

Whether married or single, women should place key importance on their retirement planning and goals for retirement. Husband and wife should absolutely work together to save as much money as they can for retirement. Single women, too, should place great effort into saving a substantial amount for retirement to ensure a comfortable lifestyle when the time comes to quit working.

Statistics on Retirement Planning for Women from the 2009 Hartford Study
According to The Hartford’s 2009 Investments & Retirement Study conducted last fall, women tend to be more concerned than men about their financial future, particularly in terms of retirement and retirement planning. The study found that women are more likely than men to work longer and to delay retirement. The Investments & Retirement Study also discovered that, due to current economic conditions, women are typically reducing their standards of living and saving less money for retirement than men.  Additionally, the study showed that women did not have as much confidence as men when it came to thinking about whether their sources of retirement income would be enough.

Hartford’s 2009 Investments & Retirement Study also found that women usually seem to need more of a guarantee than men, especially when it comes to important life-impacting matters such as retirement income. With this in mind, women should absolutely do what they can to max out their 401(k) plans with their employers and they should also diversify where possible, opening a Roth IRA or other retirement saving account. The more money saved now, the easier retirement planning for women will be years from now.

According to the study, women worried most about “outliving their money” in retirement as the greatest risk they could imagine. To combat this fear, retirement planning for women may require some fast action. Women can pay down any existing debt and avoid borrowing from their existing retirement funds for starters. Also, women should look into spending less money on other parts of life so they can put away more for their retirement planning.

Statistics uncovered in the study also showed that women seemed to be more hesitant to invest and less likely than men to rely on equities, bonds, or other market-oriented investments. To get more comfortable with all the retirement planning options available to them, women should check in with their financial advisors for tips and advice.

Tips on Retirement Planning for Women
David Potter of The Hartford Financial Services Group recommends that women start with a gap analysis to help with their retirement planning. A gap analysis essentially asks the questions, “Where am I now?” and “Where do I want to be in the future?” – allowing you to build an appropriate plan to help you get there.

“Total up all of your retirement assets (pensions, Social Security, 401(k) assets, personal savings) and calculate how much income you will have in retirement,” Potter says. “Now add up your bills and determine how much income you will need to continue your lifestyle.”

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Retirement planning for women can be easier and more successful with a little help from professional advisors and investments executives. Enlisting a financial advisor to help in the retirement planning for women can often be more successful than relying on friends and family for help, which many women are apt to do. Remember, your retirement funds dictate your future. Do what you can to secure a wonderful lifestyle for your post-work life.

About the Expert:
David Potter is the director of media relations for The Hartford Financial Services Group. The Hartford provides everything from life insurance to group and employee benefits, automobile and homeowners insurance and business insurance, and also investment products, annuities, mutual funds, and college savings plans. For more information, please see http://www.thehartford.com.

Filed under: Still Working... on February 20th, 2010