Retirement can pose greater financial challenges for women.
Living longer can come with financial concerns.
Retirement savings must last longer because women tend to have longer life expectancies than men.
An article by JP Morgan titled “Wealth Planning Is a Women’s Issue” discusses how retirement funding suffers for women who have lower incomes or take breaks from their careers to rear children or care for aging parents.
These factors make financial planning crucial for women.
Women face unique retirement and estate planning challenges.
Women should begin their retirement planning with career interruption and longer life expectancies in mind.
Working with experienced financial planners, accountants, and estate planning attorneys can help address these issues.
These individuals can work with the woman to create a plan around her future goals and lifestyle needs while addressing these financial concerns.
Such a plan will include periodically assessing savings and investments to continue moving toward a comfortable retirement.
Often, the women of the family serve as caregivers for aging parents.
Caregiving is emotionally, financially, mentally, and physically challenging.
The energy and time required for caregiving often require women to leave their jobs entirely or move to part-time roles.
When families are planning around care for aging parents, these discussions should address whether responsibilities are manageable.
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Foundation underscored the critical nature of estate planning for women with a true story.
Huguette Clark was a wealthy woman with no children or spouse who isolated herself in a hospital room for her final 20 years despite having many opulent homes.
Why?
She believed people were all after her wealth.
It seems her fears were founded.
When she died, her relatives challenged her last will and testament by claiming she was not mentally competent at the time of its creation.
Although the case was settled, it demonstrates how crucial it is for senior women to protect their wealth and wishes through estate planning.
Women can safeguard their wealth and wishes by using last wills, creating trusts, and designating trusted individuals to manage their estates and affairs should they become incapacitated.
Those making the plans should be engaged in their preparations and understand their choices to prevent estate battles.
It is fairly common for women to be given the responsibility of administering an estate after the death of a loved one.
The role of executor can be extensive and includes paying off debts, locating assets, and distributing inheritances.
The work itself can be long and complicated.
Discussing the estate administration with the family in advance can allow for selecting another executor if the original choice is unsuitable for the role.
Women can create a more secure future financially by working with a team of advisors.
What advisors should be included on the team?
The team should include a tax professional, a financial advisor, and an estate planning attorney who can help address unique challenges faced by women in retirement.
These advisors can collaborate to develop a comprehensive plan to address the family responsibilities, long-term needs, and financial goals of their female clients.
Because life circumstances change, consistent communication with the team allows for the plan to be updated accordingly.
Financial and retirement planning cannot be neglected.
If you do not yet have a comprehensive plan in place, you can schedule an initial consultation to give yourself greater peace of mind about your future.
The combination of longer life expectancies and career disruption for caregiving makes financial planning for retirement uniquely challenging.
To address these issues, a woman must prepare for the monetary losses associated with caring for aging parents.
Such planning is multifaceted and should include a team of advisors to create comprehensive retirement and estate plans.
For preparations to be effective, you should review and update your documents and plans regularly as life circumstances change.
This post is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. You should contact an attorney for advice concerning any particular issue or problem. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between Harvest Law KC and the reader.
References: J.P. Morgan (Mar. 20, 2024) “Wealth Planning Is a Women’s Issue” and The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Foundation (Mar. 20, 2024) “Balancing Independence and Vulnerability of Older Adults: What if Granny Wants to Gamble?”
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