Cortburg Speaks Retirement

Women & Higher Money Risk

April 06, 2022 Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, CRC® Season 2022 Episode 78
Cortburg Speaks Retirement
Women & Higher Money Risk
Show Notes Transcript

In this week's podcast, Miguel Gonzalez talks about how important financial decisions are for women as they typically live longer, have more breaks in employment, and earn less.

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with Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, CRC®

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Cortburg Speaks Retirement

An audio podcast about investing in the stock market, financial planning, money management and retirement planning.  Each Wednesday, we help investors at all stages of life learn how to potentially grow and preserve their money from first job through retirement.

Now here is your host, Miguel Gonzalez.

 

HOST

Good morning and welcome to the CORTBURG SPEAKS RETIREMENT audio podcast.   

On this week’s audio podcast, we talk about women and higher money risk, which means the reality of not having sufficient money in her retirement. 

Women are more vulnerable to financial insecurity because they typically live longer, have more breaks in their employment and earn less. 

Making financial decisions is therefore crucial for all women, from Social Security to the rest of their retirement planning.

Technically speaking, Social Security is gender-neutral. However, a combination of several factors creates different levels of retirement security for women and men. Here are some of the main reasons that a woman has a higher risk of not having sufficient money in her retirement years:

More Breaks in Employment. Women have less time in the workforce due to pregnancy, childcare or family care responsibilities, resulting in lower Social Security benefits than men. 

According to the most recent data from the Department of Labor, women are more likely than men to be out of the workforce or to have breaks in employment. In fact, 74% of women between 25 and 54 were in the workforce, compared with 89% of men. 

The gap widens in the 55-to-65 age group.

Women Earn Less. Despite the wage gap shrinking over the past few decades, women still earn less than men, generally speaking. 

In fact, according to the most recent data from the Social Security Administration:

•           The median earnings of working-age women who worked full-time, year-round were $40,000, compared to $50,000 for men. 

Exacerbating the issue, the average annual Social Security income received by women 65 years and older was $13,891, compared to $17,663 for men. 

Further:

•           For unmarried women – including widows – age 65 and older, Social Security comprises 45 percent of their total income. 

•           In contrast, Social Security benefits comprise only 33 percent of unmarried elderly men's income and only 28 percent of elderly couples' income. 

•           46 percent of all elderly unmarried females receiving Social Security benefits relied on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income. 

Women Live Longer. A woman at 65 is expected to live 2.2 years longer than her male counterpart. Further, according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the odds women need nursing home care is higher, and they spend more time in care than men.

During retirement, women are more likely to be single, widowed or divorced. Since most women have older spouses, they are likely to end up widowed without the financial assistance their husbands may have provided. 

Consider this sobering statistic: While the poverty rate of a married couple over 65 is only 4.2%, the poverty rate of a post-65 single woman is 20.3%.

What to Think About. It sounds obvious, but women can develop a more confident future and worry less about running out of money during their retirement years by becoming much more involved in and owning their overall financial planning. 

And making suitable financial planning decisions and suitable Social Security choices are two of the most important actions a woman can make for her retirement.

 

Make sure to visit our website, www.CortburgRetirement.com. Our site is filled with educational videos, eBooks, publications, and financial calculators designed to help you learn more about your finances.  As you search our site, send us a note regarding any questions you may have about any particular investment concepts or products. We will get back to you quickly with a thoughtful answer.

This is Miguel Gonzalez, Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC) and Managing Partner, with Cortburg Retirement Advisors signing off for this week’s educational podcast.  

 

DISCLOSURES  

Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Please consult your financial professional before making any investment decision. 

All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.

This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor.

CRC conferred by The International Foundation for Retirement Education.

Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Private Advisor Group, LLC, a registered investment advisor.  

Private Advisor Group, LLC and Cortburg Retirement Advisors, Inc. are separate entities from LPL Financial.

Investing involves risk including possible loss of principal.

·         Content in this material is for educational and general information only.

·         All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.

·         This article was prepared by RSW Publishing.