Mary Randel—Retirement Benefits Officer, Wealth Management 
As a women, saving for retirement is a challenge. On average, a woman’s life expectancy is longer than a man’s, which requires her to accumulate a higher lifetime savings balance. But, what makes saving enough even more difficult, is that many women experience career interruptions to care for children and, later, elderly parents, which reduces their lifetime earnings. Complicating matters even further is a lingering perception that retirement savings supplement Social Security benefits, rather than the other way around.
Whatever the reasons, today, more than ever, saving for retirement is truly hard work.
What Women Can Do to Meet the Challenge
Many employers, regardless of their size, offer 401k plans to help their employees save for retirement. Even if you are just starting out—or have started your own company—participating in one of these tax-deferred plans is your first line of defense for achieving the type of retirement you deserve.
Other actions women can take to feel more confident they are doing enough for their “future self” include:
- Make no excuses! When your employer offers to match the amount you’re saving, save at least the amount needed to earn the maximum amount being matched. An offer of matched savings is better than a free lunch, unlimited personal time or a snack drawer—it’s literally free money for you to spend in retirement.
- Regardless of your current position, save. Don’t wait until you’re earning more or have fewer financial obligations. In the long run, how much you save isn’t as important as how early you start and how consistent you are.
- Have something in reserve. The emergency cash reserve everyone is supposed to build in their 20s becomes even more important in retirement. Be sure to save not just for day-to-day expenses but also for the unexpected things, like replacing cars and furnaces or paying for homecare providers and rehabilitative services.
- Redefine “old.” Approach retirement planning with the mindset that you will work at least until your age of full employment under Social Security. That’s not 62. For today’s workers, it’s actually between ages 66 and 67. Taking benefits at age 62 when they first become available will severely reduce your monthly benefit for the rest of your life.
- Invest in yourself. The healthier you are, the more options you’re likely to have regarding your retirement. Preventable health issues can lead to retiring earlier than planned, reduce your quality of life in retirement and significantly erode savings. There is also another reason to invest in yourself: Many retirees find leisure isn’t as compelling as it once seemed. Maintaining your marketable skills, along with your health, makes doing work you find meaningful, as long as you choose to, an option.
- Plan for both of you…and each of you. Many widowed spouses are surprised when they no longer have a second Social Security check coming in each month after the death of their spouse. Retirement planning should include savings arrangements that cover the needs of the couple but also incorporate the ongoing needs of the remaining spouse.
- Invest to achieve your goals, not to appease your fears. Being overly cautious when investing can be detrimental to successfully saving for retirement. This is why many people opt to hire a professional. Whether this means having a wealth manager step in or investing in a diversified handful of mutual funds, outsourcing the decision-making can help get you closer to your goals.
Whether you want to supplement your employer’s retirement plan by saving on your own or are an employer who wants to make it easier for your staff to plan for their retirements as well, we can help. Contact me at 630-906-5500 or at mrandel@oldsecond.com. You can also learn more about our options here. However you choose to contact us, we look forward to talking to you about how we can help you plan for the future you deserve.
Rescuers have begun searching for survivors after Hurricane Michael flattened towns along the coast of the Florida panhandle. The hurricane made landfall early afternoon on Wednesday in Mexico Beach, Florida as a strong Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour and knocked out power in about 1.5 million homes and businesses in the Southeast region. The storm is responsible for 12 deaths across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia and that number is expected to rise according to FEMA Administrator Brock Long. Offshore oil rigs in the Gulf were evacuated as the hurricane approached Florida, cutting oil production by over 40% and natural gas output by 33%.
On Sunday night, the United States and Canada reached an agreement for the revised North American Free Trade Agreement just before the deadline of October 1st. The new agreement that includes Mexico will be called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA. Canada agreed to open its dairy market to the United States while the United States agreed to keep the dispute-resolution process in the deal which would provide Canada protection from potential tariffs imposed by the United States. President Trump calls the deal the “most important deal we’ve ever made by far” and stated that he is skeptical of congress passing the deal as a result of political motives.
Oil prices skyrocketed as United States sanctions on Iran are set to begin on November 4th and OPEC has agreed to keep oil production at its current levels rather than pump more. The United States promised that the oil market would be sufficiently supplied in time for the sanctions to begin. OPEC’s decision against increasing supply could force the United States to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep oil prices under control.
South Korean President Moon stated that during a three-day summit with Kim Jong Un this week, the North Korean leader expressed interest in having a second summit with Donald Trump in the near future to speed up denuclearization. Moon also said that Kim is now open to inspections at North Korea’s last existing facility for underground tests in Punggye-ri, where he previously would not allow inspections. The United States demands that North Korea accomplishes a “verifiable, irreversible, dismantlement” of its nuclear program before the U.S. satisfies their demand of an end to the war.
Hurricane Florence, a Category 1 hurricane, made landfall this morning on the North Carolina coast bringing sustained winds of 90 miles per hour and a life-threatening storm surge. The slow moving storm is expected hang over the Carolinas this weekend and drop catastrophic amounts of rain causing a lot of flooding. The power was knocked out in nearly 500,000 homes and hundreds were rescued this morning as the storm made landfall.
On Wednesday, Western Japan was hit with the most powerful typhoon that the country has seen in 25 years. Typhoon Jebi hit the city of Osaka with sustained winds of 100 miles per hour killing 11 people, injuring 470, and leaving over a million homes without power. Kansai Airport, a major airport for the tourist cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe still remains closed after vicious waves sent a large tanker into a bridge connecting the airport to the mainland. It is not yet known when the damaged and flooded airport will be reopened, raising concerns about the impact on tourism and the economy. On Thursday, Northern Japan was hit with a strong earthquake, closing another major airport. 22 were killed, 38 were missing, and roughly 3 million homes were without power after the earthquake.
The United States and Mexico have struck a preliminary deal on Monday to replace NAFTA. The deal would remain in force for 16 years, with an evaluation every six years, and is expected to strengthen manufacturing in the United States. The deal includes an obligation by auto manufacturers to manufacture at least 75% of an automobile’s value in the United States, an increase from 62.5%. Also included, was a stipulation that 40-45% of auto components be manufactured by employees earning at least $16 an hour. Negotiations are still ongoing between the United States and Canada after a deal was expected by today, however, the two sides are having trouble coming together on Canada’s dairy market, among other things.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was found guilty on eight financial related crimes. Five of the crimes were for tax fraud, two for bank fraud, and one for failing to disclose a foreign bank account. As a result, Paul Manafort faces years in prison. President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen plead guilty on eight counts of crimes similar to Manaforts and also admitted to paying off an adult film actress and a former Playboy model so that they would not spread the story of their alleged affairs with Trump.