As a single woman, it can be scary facing retirement alone. Single women face different challenges when retiring, including living longer and needing more financial resources. These challenges require advice for single women in retirement to be different than typical retirement advice. Continue reading to learn what things to do when retiring as a single woman.
Create a Retirement Plan
Having a plan for your finances in your golden years is crucial. No one wants to have to worry about making ends meet when trying to enjoy their retirement. When sitting down to set up a plan, you can find the best opportunities for you and avoid several mistakes. This plan includes at what age you can retire, how much you need to pay yourself in retirement, and what your sources of retirement income are.
Know Your Debt and Expenses
In retirement, you will be living off of a fixed income. To ensure that you will be using your money wisely, you will want to make a list of the debts that you owe and the current expenses you have before retirement. While you are still working, pay off your high-interest debt and begin to account for the low-interest debt that you will continue to pay off in retirement. Go through your other expenses to see where you can lower them to save extra money.
Avoid Taking Social Security as Long as Possible
Social Security is a reliable source of retirement income, but if you delay starting Social Security, you can receive more money. You could begin taking Social Security at the age of 62, but for each year that you wait, your benefit increases. The latest you should begin taking Social Security is at 70 years old because your benefit stops increasing.
Learn about Investing
Leveraging investing to grow your retirement savings is extremely helpful. Women are less likely to invest to avoid risk, but investing can provide a plentiful retirement income in your IRAs and 401(k)s. With women having a longer lifespan, they need to fund a longer retirement. Having a more aggressive investment strategy can provide more money to live off of in retirement.
Prioritize Your Health
One would not normally think about their health during retirement planning. Healthcare costs can be crippling in retirement if not planned for properly. It is inevitable that the older you are, the more expensive your medical bills will be. If you begin to be healthier, you can avoid the expensive medical bills for several years.
Utilizing a financial advisor can help you have a successful retirement plan. An advisor can assess your specific financial situation and provide guidance on how to improve. Here at California Wealth Transitions, we want to help women feel confident in their retirement plans.
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/5-retirement-planning-tips-for-single-women/
https://www.approachfp.com/retirement-advice-for-women/
https://rvpllc.com/how-to-retire-successfully-as-a-single-woman/
