Women, Money and Today’s Retirement

Women, Money and Today’s Retirement

Despite all of the other advances made in our society in recent generations, women continue to face unique challenges when it comes to preparing for their financial futures.

Recognizing the Shortfalls

For starters, women on average still earn less than men, according to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. And because women tend to serve as primary caregivers for young children and aging parents, women typically spend fewer years in the workforce. As a result, the average woman could earn significantly less than the average man during the course of a lifetime.

That combination of lower earning power and fewer years in the workforce translates into less retirement savings for women. In addition, the average annual pension benefit for a retired woman is less than that of the average retired man.

Adding to the inequity, Social Security benefits, based in part on workplace longevity, are also adversely affected. The end result is that retired women also tend to receive smaller monthly Social Security checks than men.

Closing the Gap

Consequently, it's essential that all women and their loved ones embrace a more active approach to investments to make up for the financial shortfalls they could face at retirement.

It's particularly important to take advantage of tax-deferred individual retirement accounts and employer-sponsored savings plans when available. Annuities can be an important tool for bridging the retirement income gap.

Remember, even a small increase in the amount of your investments or annuity contributions may add up to significant savings over time.

For More Information

If you’d like to learn more, Jamie Marner is a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and works out of the Westfield office. To contact him, email james.marner@mssb.com , call 908-518-5427 or go to fa.smithbarney.com/marner

The author(s) and/or publication are neither employees of nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ("MSSB"). By providing this third party publication, we are not implying an affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement, approval, investigation, verification or monitoring by MSSB of any information contained in the publication.

The opinions expressed by the authors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of MSSB.  The information and data in the article or publication has been obtained from sources outside of MSSB and MSSB makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of MSSB. Neither the information provided nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation by MSSB with respect to the purchase or sale of any security, investment, strategy or product that may be mentioned.

Article written by McGraw Hill and provided courtesy of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Financial Advisor [Jamie Marner]

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

2011-PS-245