![]() ![]() When her mother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure 10 years ago, Whaley became actively involved in her mother’s caregiving. The costs of caregivingĮarly retirement is once again a priority for Wyletter Whaley, 61, an attorney based in Dallas, Texas. It also helps to find an advisor who understands women’s different life journeys-“someone who really gets how things like the wage gap and career breaks can impact your progress toward your goals and who can suggest ways to compensate for those challenges,” she suggests. And develop a smart strategy for maximizing your income when you claim Social Security,” recommends Sabbia. “Familiarize yourself with resources, such as 401(k)s and health savings accounts, that can offer tax advantages as you work toward building a more secure future. But there are other ways to compensate for the financial impact of taking a time-out for family. Of course, becoming an entrepreneur isn’t an option for everyone. Not every mother chooses to take a full break-some decide to start their own full-time or part-time at-home businesses. It can unlock doors for us to achieve all of our aspirations, as professionals, as entrepreneurs, as policy influencers, as single women, as mothers, as partners and spouses.”įor many women, becoming a mother can trigger the need to hit the pause button on their careers. “Financial independence is a goal worth pursuing. With all the change happening in our world, taking control of your financial future starts with a conversation,” she adds. “So can working with an advisor who understands women’s different financial journeys and can help you create a portfolio that has the potential to last your lifetime. “Something as simple as making sure we take advantage of critical wealth escalators like company matches in our 401(k)s, in the same way that men do, can help us become more financially secure. Invest early and make your money work for you,” Lindsay Hans, president and co-head of Merrill Wealth Management. Over the long haul, conservative investments tend to have lower growth potential. When you earn less, you have less to save-and the natural inclination is to guard it by choosing investments that are more conservative. Career interruptions also can cause women to lose out on potential raises and reduce how much they’ll collect from Social Security. “That has huge implications when it comes to your ability to save.” Boning up on negotiating skills can help turn the tables.Ĭomplicating matters, the career breaks many women take to care for family give them fewer years to fund a retirement plan. ![]() 1 “Very few women push back on salary offers compared to men,” Sabbia says. In 2020, women earned 82.3% of what men earned, according to the U.S. For starters, the pay gap remains a stubborn stumbling block. Time crunch aside, all too often the financial deck is stacked against women of all ages. He has regularly offered advice on everything from setting up loan financing to talking through the various choices she might have as she phases into retirement and can focus on giving back as a volunteer to various animal charities close to her heart. That new advisor, Merrill Wealth Management Advisor Mitch McLendon, has been a valuable sounding board for Warren’s business decisions as well as her more personal long-term goals. Working with a new financial advisor, she shifted her investments into a range of low-fee options, and she’s now much more comfortable with her returns. I would have done as well if I had just put cash under my mattress.” It turns out Warren had been paying almost as much in fees as she’d been making on her investments.Ī cross-country move from Arizona to Florida provided her with a fresh start. Warren saw that she needed to pay closer attention to her finances when, after a number of years of investing, she realized, “I wasn’t really making money. Our saving and investing are impacted by these things, which makes it all the more important for us to take control of our finances early on.” “There’s a huge wealth gap between men and women, caused by such things as the pay gap and the fact that women tend to spend more time out of the workforce caring for family. Women can’t afford to ignore these issues, says Lorna Sabbia, head of Retirement & Personal Wealth Solutions at Bank of America. ![]() Thinking about investing, saving for retirement and other financial goals often gets lost in the shuffle. There’s a lot to juggle between work, caring for kids and relatives, and managing the household budget, among other demands. Warren is describing one of the biggest hurdles many women face when it comes to money. ![]()
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