By Mandelman
If you look at the facts about retirement savings in this country today, the picture is positively dismal. Measured against the rule of thumb that says you’ll need ten times your annual income saved in order to maintain your lifestyle during your retirement years… the reality is that almost no one in this country is going to make it.
Three quarters of those ages 50 to 64 have average total retirement account balances of $26,395. Even those in the top 25 percent of earners age 50‐64 have retirement account balances of only $52,000.
And as bad as the problem is on a national scale, it’s significantly worse for women.
Women are more likely to work in part-time jobs that don’t qualify for a retirement plan. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, of the 62 million wage and salaried women between age 21 – 64, only 45 percent participate in a retirement plan.
Working women are more likely than men to interrupt their careers to take care of family members, which means on average, they work fewer years, accumulate lower amounts of savings during their lifetimes, and contribute less toward retirement. And all of that being said, women live longer than men so they’ll be retired longer. On average, a woman retiring at age 65 can expect to live another 20 years, which is 3 years longer than the average man the same age.
The only statistic women have going for them is that, by and large, they invest more conservatively than men, so they are more likely to be successful savers.
My guests on this Mandelman Matters Podcast are both nationally known experts in the areas of retirement and estate planning.
Renee Gabbard is a partner in the Private Client Service Group in the Irvine, California offices of the law firm, Bryan Cave LLP. Renee’s practice focuses on high net worth clients who depend on her experience designing business succession and wealth planning strategies. She specializes in tax and insurance planning along with trust administration. She received her J.D. in 1992 from New York University and her B.A. in 1989 from the University of Southern California. To reach Renee via email use [email protected]… or call 949-223-7134.
Mike Moorhead is a Managing Partner at Tippett Moorhead. He’s spent 35 years in the financial service industry, working to help both large corporate and high net worth individual …read more
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