June 20, 2018

A new Merrill Lynch study has found that women have to work harder than men. This is especially problematic given that longevity numbers for women indicate that they are likely to live longer. A woman may outlive her spouse by 10 years or more, putting additional pressure on her if there are not sufficient financial assets to support her. Women have to start planning and saving for retirement earlier on and must also work longer in order to enjoy pension and Social Security benefits. 

Women often have to play catch up and worry about the fact that they live longer. Both can present serious problems.

Pay and debt disparities are some of the common reasons women enter into the workplace with less opportunities than men to begin with. This means they must play catch up over the course of their life. Even combining finances with a spouse calls for additional planning opportunities as someone who may suddenly lose a spouse may be in the position of finding it difficult or impossible to move on with their life. This is particularly true if issues surrounding long term care emerge immediately.

If you want to talk about how to best save your assets and then plan for them in your retirement, set aside a time to talk to an experienced estate planning attorney today.