{"id":7369,"date":"2019-03-03T09:09:19","date_gmt":"2019-03-03T13:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=7369"},"modified":"2019-03-03T09:09:25","modified_gmt":"2019-03-03T13:09:25","slug":"women-facing-financial-challenges-for-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=7369","title":{"rendered":"Women Facing Financial Challenges for Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The barriers to accumulating wealth for women are daunting. Recommendations from a Senate hearing and a think tank briefing.

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The financial challenges women face to achieve financial security in retirement can be huge<\/a>, as a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing and an Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) briefing last week demonstrated starkly. And with the rising cost of health care, as well as other deep-seated economic factors at play, the anxiety has heightened considerably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, as the Senate hearing<\/a>  (Financial Security in Retirement: Innovations and Best Practices to Improve Saving) <\/em>and the EBRI briefing (Special Considerations Women Face in Retirement Security<\/a>)<\/em>demonstrated, women\u2019s financial security is on the front burner in political and public policy discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial Barriers for Women<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Put simply, the barriers to accumulating wealth for women are daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Senate hearing, Linda Stone, a Women\u2019s Institute for a Secure Retirement<\/a> (WISER) fellow and volunteer member of the Society of Actuaries committee on postretirement needs and risks, laid the urgency on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are 5.7 million more women than men at age 65, and 67 percent of the over age-85 population are female,\u201d she said.  What\u2019s more, she added, \u201cone out of two women in their mid-50s today will live until age 90.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people age 85 and over \u2014 especially women \u2014 end up near-poor or in poverty, even if they have never been poor before, Stone told the Senators. \u201cWomen face greater longevity risk than men, due to their longer lives and the resulting need for more income. Social Security reports that, on average, women have nine years with zero earnings, and women\u2019s careers average 29 years compared to 39 years for men.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s Higher Risk for Falling Into Poverty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stone reminded the Senators that due to the gender mortality difference and the fact that many women marry older men, they are more likely to outlive their partner and to be living alone, increasing the likelihood of falling into poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The financial implications can be dire, especially if women spent their financial resources on an ailing husband\u2019s health care at the end of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reality of today\u2019s retirement landscape is do-it-yourself and do it right, or live at or below the edge of poverty in what are supposed to be your golden years,\u201d Stone said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She noted that as women change jobs, many don\u2019t grasp why they shouldn\u2019t cash out their retirement-plan balances, no matter how tiny and why that leaving the money alone can make a big difference at retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Senator\u2019s Revealing Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) agreed, candidly citing her personal experience. She\u2019s still kicking herself for cashing out her retirement-plan savings to buy a car in her mid-30s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe worst financial decision I ever made which was when I left the Hill as a staffer with almost twelve years of retirement contributions. I withdrew all<\/em> of the money to buy a car,\u201d Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging admitted at the hearing. \u201cI swear if just one<\/em>person had said to me when I filed to withdraw the money, \u2018Do you really want to do this? You\u2019re already vested and the implications are enormous and there is nothing wrong with getting a car loan.\u2019 I was just thinking \u2018Oh I can\u2019t take on debt.\u2019 It was truly such a bad decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Could Help Women Achieve Financial Security in Retirement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To help women achieve financial security in retirement, Stone made these three suggestions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n