{"id":2010,"date":"2012-07-31T21:18:38","date_gmt":"2012-08-01T01:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=2010"},"modified":"2012-07-31T21:20:17","modified_gmt":"2012-08-01T01:20:17","slug":"can-boomer-women-ever-afford-to-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=2010","title":{"rendered":"Can Boomer Women Ever Afford to Retire?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/next-ave.gif?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1432\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?attachment_id=1432\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/next-ave.gif?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"300,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"next-ave\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/next-ave.gif?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/next-ave.gif?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1432\" title=\"next-ave\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/next-ave.gif?resize=150%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/next-ave.gif?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/next-ave.gif?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>The surprising answer to the question posed by the headline is: You bet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Contrary to conventional wisdom and the slew of recent articles suggesting that retirement for a great number of women (and many men) in this age group is virtually out of the question, boomer women actually stand a<em>better<\/em>\u00a0chance of retiring well compared to previous generations \u2014 if they take the initiative.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Since this is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/irionline.org\/news\/article\/id\/616\" target=\"_blank\">National Retirement Planning Week<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 you hadn\u2019t heard? \u2014 it\u2019s an especially apt time to talk about the retirement savings challenges that women have to contend with. (Spearheading the week, which kicked off on April 9, is the Insured Retirement Institute, a trade group of firms selling annuities, along with a group of respected nonprofits including the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebri.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Employee Benefit Research Institute<\/a>, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/crr.bc.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Retirement Research at Boston College<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wiserwomen.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Women&#8217;s Institute for a Secure Retirement<\/a>.)<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>Women Face Special Barriers<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Now, there\u2019s no question that women have to overcome certain obstacles on the retirement front.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>As\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/blog\/when-it-comes-money-deck-stacked-against-women\" target=\"_blank\">I recently blogged<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">NextAvenue.org<\/a>, we generally have lower salaries and longer life spans than men. We also take more time away from the workforce to raise children or care for aging relatives, sacrificing retirement benefits during those years as a result.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>The Good News About Retirement<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>That said, boomer women have worked and earned more than any previous generation, boosting their retirement savings, according to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban.org\/publications\/412490.html\" target=\"_blank\">Boomers\u2019 Retirement Income Prospects<\/a>, a recent survey by the Urban Institute, a non-partisan think tank. Employed boomer women, earn 36 to 59 percent more per year on average in inflation-adjusted dollars (currently $30,000 to $35,100) than their pre-boomer counterparts, according to the study. The survey doesn&#8217;t cite exactly how much the women have saved for retirement.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>This survey also indicates that most boomer women are earning their own Social Security benefits \u2014 separate from their husbands\u2019 \u2014 and will receive bigger Social Security benefits, adjusted for inflation, than women in the past.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Moreover, more of us will have our own pensions or retirement accounts, which will generally be worth more than those held by the generation before us.<\/div>\n<div>What&#8217;s behind this good news? Here are three factors:<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The full retirement age for Social Security has been rising, from 65 to 67. So we\u2019re working longer, which leads to larger Social Security checks.<\/li>\n<li>There has been a shift away from traditional private-sector pension plans that reward early retirement. As a result, women are staying on the job longer than before, pulling in additional paychecks. Women who are now 47 to 56 are expected to work 40 years by the time they\u2019re 70, on average, compared with just 30 years for the previous generation of women.<\/li>\n<li>Wages are better. Employed women born between 1946 and 1955 earn 36 percent more per year in inflation\u2013adjusted dollars than their pre-boomer counterparts; women 50 to 54 earn 59 percent more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><strong>Women Remain Nervous About Their Retirement Prospects<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n<div>Despite all this, we\u2019re still walking on eggshells when it comes to our future retirement.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>According to the recently released\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebri.org\/surveys\/rcs\/2012\/#\" target=\"_blank\">2012 Retirement Confidence\u00a0<\/a>survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, women are less likely than men to feel very confident about retirement.To me, this is a clear indicator that women know they\u2019re lagging behind on retirement planning. Consider this a wake-up call to ramp it up.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The retirement-confidence survey also found that women are less likely than men to calculate how much they will need to have saved by the time they retire<strong>.<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Come on women, do the math. This is isn\u2019t rocket science. It\u2019s your future. Focus.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>My Money Tip of the Week<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Studies have shown that people who calculate how much they\u2019ll need to retire feel more optimistic about their ability to retire. And they manage to save more over time.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>So run your numbers right now. Sure, you&#8217;ll have to rely on rough estimates of how much you\u2019ll need to live on, and how much you\u2019ll have to save to retire when and how you want. But that will be good enough to put you on the right path.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>I recommend trying an online calculator called The Ballpark E$timate from the Employee Benefit Research Institute&#8217;s site,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.choosetosave.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">choosetosave.org<\/a>. NextAvenue.org has a link to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/content\/tool-retirement-planning-estimator\" target=\"_blank\">this calculator\u00a0<\/a>on our site. Many major mutual fund companies also have good retirement calculators on their sites.<\/p>\n<p>And NextAvenue.org has a useful, easy tool called\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/content\/tool-how-much-save-reach-your-financial-goals\" target=\"_blank\">How Much to Save to Reach Your Financial Goals<\/a>, which shows you the amount to put away each year to amass the cash you\u2019ll want at retirement.<\/p>\n<p>posted by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/expert\/kerry-hannon\">Kerry Hannon<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/expert\/kerry-hannon\">More by this author<\/a><\/p>\n<div><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nextavenue.org\/sites\/default\/files\/img\/expert\/kerry.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" align=\"left\" \/>Kerry Hannon has spent more than 25 years covering personal finance for Forbes, Money, U.S. News &amp; World Report, and USA Today. Her website is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">kerryhannon.com<\/a>. Follow her on Twitter\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/KerryHannon\" target=\"_blank\">@kerryhannon<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-small.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"small\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Can Boomer Women Ever Afford to Retire?\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The surprising answer to the question posed by the headline is: You bet. Contrary to conventional wisdom and the slew of recent articles suggesting that retirement for a great number of women (and many men) in this age group is virtually out of the question, boomer women actually stand abetter\u00a0chance of retiring well compared to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-small.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"small\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Can Boomer Women Ever Afford to Retire?\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,59,38,62,9,63,16],"tags":[64,333],"class_list":["post-2010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boomers","category-careers","category-living-in-retirement","category-next-avenue","category-retirement","category-women-and-money","category-working-after-retirement","tag-boomer-women","tag-retirement"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/next-ave.gif?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3YFQS-wq","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2010"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2016,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010\/revisions\/2016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}