{"id":719,"date":"2012-04-20T17:13:21","date_gmt":"2012-04-20T17:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=719"},"modified":"2012-05-03T13:59:02","modified_gmt":"2012-05-03T13:59:02","slug":"can-boomer-women-afford-to-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=719","title":{"rendered":"CAN BOOMER WOMEN AFFORD TO RETIRE?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/kerryhannon\/2012\/02\/08\/can-boomer-women-afford-to-retire\/2\/\"><br \/>\n<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/kerryhannon\/2012\/02\/08\/can-boomer-women-afford-to-retire\/2\/\">Read the Published Article<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Boomer women take a bow. You\u2019ve worked and earned more than the generation before you and will reap those rewards in retirement. Rosie the Riveter would be proud.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the good news from a new study by the Urban Institute that was discussed yesterday at a forum held in<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/places\/dc\/washington\/\">Washington<\/a>, DC titillating titled: \u201cCan Boomer Women Afford to Retire?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Projections show that the majority of boomer women will earn their own Social\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/security\/\">Security<\/a>\u00a0and will receive higher bene\ufb01ts than previous generations. In addition, more will have their own pensions or retirement accounts, which will generally be worth more than earlier generations\u2019 accounts.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1087\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?attachment_id=1087\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/forbes1.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=\"forbes\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/forbes1.gif?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/forbes1.gif?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1087\" title=\"forbes\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/forbes1.gif?resize=150%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/forbes1.gif?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/forbes1.gif?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<aside data-position=\"4\">\n<div>Two thirds of boomer women now between the ages of 47 and 56 will qualify for Social Security retirement benefits based on their earnings, up from 44 percent of pre-boomers born between 1936 and 1945, and only 1 in 10 of them will likely rely solely on spouse or survivor benefits.<!--more--><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Those are some findings of \u201cBoomers\u2019\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/retirement\/\">Retirement<\/a>Income Prospects,\u201d by Melissa Favreault, Richard Johnson, Karen Smith, and Sheila Zedlewski. The report compares earnings, retirement, and financial assets of boomers born between 1946 and 1955, and those late-boomers born between 1956 and 1965, and a pre-boomer group, born between 1936 and 1945.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers found that women are delaying retirement, as are men. Between 1990 and 2010, labor force participation rates at ages 62 and older increased from 22 to 29 percent for men and from 12 to 20 percent for women. This growth stems, in part, from Social Security changes that raised the full retirement age, as well as the shift away from traditional private-sector pension plans that reward early retirement.\u00a0By age 70, women now 47 to 56 will have worked a median 40 years of employment, compared with 30 years for pre-boomer women, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wages are better, but..<\/strong>Employed boomer women born between 1946 and 1955 earn 36 percent more per year in in\ufb02ation-adjusted dollars than their pre-boomer counterparts ($30,000 versus $22,100), while women ages 50 to 54 \u00a0will earn 59 percent more ($35,100).<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong>While it\u2019s great that women\u2019s income has gone up over the years, if you ask me,\u00a0those annual earnings are depressing. Reality bites. Men ages 50 to 54 earn a median annual income of $48,900 per year. And men ages 55 to 56 clock in at $50,400.<\/p>\n<p>The wage gap makes me crazy. I have battled it myself since my 20s, and there\u2019s much more to these numbers than this survey unveils, so bear with me while I climb up on my soapbox.<\/p>\n<p>According to the most recent figures from the Bureau for Labor Statistics, white women earned 81.4\u00a0percent as much as their male counterparts, compared with black (91.1 percent), Asian (80.3\u00a0percent), and Hispanic women (90.4 percent).<\/p>\n<p>The fact that women earn less has serious repercussions. Reduced salaries mean smaller Social Security payouts and slimmer pension benefits, too. To calculate your Social Security payout, click<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/kerryhannon\/2011\/07\/12\/how-big-will-your-monthly-payment-be-aarps-new-social-security-benefits-calculator\/\">\u00a0here.<\/a>\u00a0For more analysis, go to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.forbes.com\/janetnovack\/2011\/02\/15\/the-big-decision-when-to-take-social-security\/\">The Big Decision: When To Take Social Security<\/a>) and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/kerryhannon\/2011\/07\/06\/how-not-to-outlive-your-money\/\">How Not to Outlive Your Money.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then too, the report does not get into the fact that many women take time off full-time work to raise a family or care for an aging relative.The result: fewer years they can pay into a retirement plan. Women are also more likely to work for smaller firms or part-time in jobs that have no tax-deferred retirement plan at all.<\/p>\n<p>Women live roughly five years longer than men, so they need more funds set aside to protect against outliving their income. Alas, U.S. women are behind in saving for retirement, according to the 2011 retirement survey from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/companies\/wells-fargo\/\">Wells Fargo<\/a>. The survey queried middle-class women across five decades, from those in their mid-20s to those who are already retired and in their 60s.<\/p>\n<p>Women hold more than half of high-paying management and professional positions in the U.S., and three women are in college now for every two men. But when it comes to retirement, they lag in their confidence about how to prepare for this phase in life, and they are less likely to see themselves in the driver\u2019s seat, says Karen Wimbish, head of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/retail\/\">Retail<\/a>\u00a0Retirement for Wells Fargo.\u00a0 Just 54 percent of women said they are \u201cconfident\u201d they will have enough saved to \u201clive the life they want\u201d in retirement, compared to 62 percent of men.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can boomer women afford to retire?\u00a0<\/strong>Your guess is as good as mine. The Urban Institute study\u2019s bottom line: Boomers have \u201cincreasingly uncertain retirement prospects\u201d.\u00a0How boomers really fare in retirement will hinge on several unknowns, the report authors conclude: How much will stocks and bonds earn over the coming decades? Will more boomers than we expect end up working well into old age? Will a signi\ufb01cant share end up dipping into their housing wealth? Will Congress cut boomers\u2019 Social Security?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<aside data-position=\"4\">\n<div>And importantly, how much will boomers need to spend on health and long-term care? One estimate suggests that out-of-pocket medical costs will consume 15 percent of income for the median boomer retiree, up from 10 percent for the pre-boomer retirees\u2013which suggests that boomers will need more than their predecessors to enjoy a comfortable retirement, the researchers point out.<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>No kids to pick-up the pieces.\u00a0<\/strong>This healthcare issue hits home for me touching on something that causes anxiety when I let myself think about it. \u201cAdult children often support their retired parents today, sometimes with \ufb01nancial assistance, but more often with chores and personal care when their parents become frail,\u201d the researchers note. \u201cHowever, declining fertility rates will leave about one in six late-boomer women childless. More boomers will need to pay for help if they become frail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I personally stress about this since I fall into this category. Who is going to chip in for my health care needs if I don\u2019t have enough socked away to cover it? What if I end up needing the kind of care my dad did when he battled Alzheimer\u2019s. See my family\u2019s story\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=81:the-trouble-with-alzheimers-care-one-familys-story&amp;catid=13:health&amp;Itemid=18\">here<\/a>. I can\u2019t really expect my nieces and nephews to pay for my care, they have their own parents to worry about.<\/p>\n<p>So while I\u2019m really happy to find evidence that \u00a0women are better off than they were in the workforce, I\u2019m still worried about boomer women, myself included. How \u00a0we deal with aging and retirement\u2013particularly if you\u2019re a woman who doesn\u2019t have a spouse or a partner to share the load\u2013is going to take discipline and focus.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re not paying attention to your retirement savings already, do me a favor, try one thing today to start educating yourself about investments like Roth IRAs and mutual funds, long-term care insurance and annuties.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s lots of help available on the Internet. One site I particularly like for women is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wiserwomen.org\/\">WISER<\/a>. Set aside the time to\u00a0learn about investing and retirement planning. It will pay-off. To quickly estimate how much you need to save, use Choose to Save\u2019s<a href=\"http:\/\/www.choosetosave.org\/ballpark\/\">Ballpark E$timate<\/a>calculator. Don\u2019t let the numbers trouble you \u2014think of \u00a0it as an incentive to get to work.<\/p>\n<p>As the 1942 song goes: \u201c\u00a0All the day long, Whether rain or shine. She\u2019s part of the assembly line. She\u2019s making history. Working for victory\u2013 Rosie the Riveter\u201d.\u00a0.\u00a0To read the Urban Institute\u2019s full report, click\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban.org\/publications\/412490.html\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><object width=\"620\" height=\"466\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6, 0, 40, 0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/9CQ0M0wx00s&amp;rel=0\" \/><\/object><\/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 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 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>Read the Published Article Boomer women take a bow. You\u2019ve worked and earned more than the generation before you and will reap those rewards in retirement. Rosie the Riveter would be proud. That\u2019s the good news from a new study by the Urban Institute that was discussed yesterday at a forum held inWashington, DC titillating [&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 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":1,"featured_media":1087,"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":[7,31,16],"tags":[340,333,335,10,331],"class_list":["post-719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boomers","category-saving-for-retirement","category-working-after-retirement","tag-finances","tag-retirement","tag-second-acts","tag-second-careers","tag-second-verse-blog-on-forbes-com"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/forbes1.gif?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3YFQS-bB","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=719"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1123,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719\/revisions\/1123"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}