What Women Really Want in Retirement
By Anastasia Taber, CFP®
Women face some financial challenges in retirement that, on average, affect them differently than men. Although women have made significant gains in education and the workforce, an earnings gap remains. Recent Pew Research Center data show that women continue to earn less than men on average, which can affect how much they’re able to save and invest over the course of their careers.
Women are also more likely to take time away from work or reduce their hours to care for children, aging parents, or other family members. Those career interruptions can affect earnings, retirement savings, and future Social Security benefits.
Additionally, women tend to live longer than men. For many women, that means preparing for a retirement that could last 20 or 30 years and making financial decisions with a longer time horizon in mind.
Despite these challenges, women can still build a retirement that supports both their financial needs and the life they want to live. Understanding your retirement goals can help you make more intentional decisions about what you’re saving for and how you want to spend those years. Below are three priorities we often hear from our female clients, along with some considerations for pursuing them.
1. Financial Security
Because of the specific difficulties women face in saving enough for retirement, we understand that most women’s priority for their golden years is to feel secure about their finances. After working hard for decades, you want to know that your retirement savings aren't going to run out in your lifetime.
Accordingly, we help women strategize the best ways to save more for retirement as well as investment allocations to generate long-term income. A comprehensive retirement plan that accounts for a variety of possibilities (such as the need for long-term care or increased medical expenses) can help you sleep easier knowing your financial needs are taken care of.
2. A Trusted Financial Advocate
Because many women must prepare to spend at least some of their retirement alone, we understand that it’s important to develop a relationship with a reliable financial advocate. This is a professional who is there to help evaluate the options best suited to meet your financial goals and navigate new scenarios as you experience life’s changes.
Although you may feel overwhelmed or concerned about your long-term stability, we believe that women can still realize the retirement they envision with the right knowledge and strategies. A trusted financial advocate may be the missing piece you need to help you get there. With the right financial partner, you’ll know you have someone you can go to with all your financial questions down the road, no matter how big or small.
3. A Strong Community
Of course, retirement isn’t just about having enough money in the bank to stop working. It can also mean leaving behind the structure, relationships, and sense of purpose that came with your career.
That transition can be difficult, especially if you haven’t thought about what you want your days to look like once work occupies less of your time. Travel, family, friendships, hobbies, volunteering, and community involvement can all become integral parts of retirement.
Thinking about those priorities ahead of time can also inform your financial planning. When you have a clearer idea of how you want to spend your retirement years, you can make more informed decisions about the money you’ll need to support that life.
Planning Around Your Retirement Goals for Women
Preparing for retirement comes with plenty of questions, from how much you’ll need to how you want to spend your time once you get there. At Taber Asset Management, we help women think through those decisions and build a financial plan around what matters most to them.
If you’re ready to take a closer look at your retirement goals and what it may take to support them, get started today by scheduling a 15-minute intro phone call online or reaching out to us at 703-380-0968 or invest@taberasset.com.
About Anastasia
Anastasia Taber, CFP®, is an Associate Advisor who leads the financial planning services division and co-hosts the Finerate podcast at TABER Asset Management, an independent, fiduciary wealth management firm in Alexandria, Virginia, and Des Moines, Iowa. A Georgetown University alumna with a Bachelor of Arts in English, she brings deep operational experience from previous roles in accounting at a global law firm and working for one of the largest U.S. REITs. Known for being detail-oriented and committed to excellence, Anastasia focuses on building trust-based, long-term relationships to help clients preserve capital and achieve financial freedom.
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