Save for Retirement!

The following was posted on February 6th by Michelle Capezza and was written for women but I think men can learn from this post as well. The original post is here

As an employee benefits attorney, I am troubled by the statistics that show that Americans of all ages are financially ill-prepared for their retirement years. For women, this is caused and compounded by a myriad of factors, including a longer life expectancy than men, income disparities, maternity and other leave time away from the workforce, child and elder care expenses, and conservative or lack of financial planning. For busy working women juggling many responsibilities, it is imperative to carve out the time to purposefully and responsibly plan for retirement.

If your employer provides employee benefits such as a 401(k) plan, it is crucial to participate in the plan. Employers undertake a lot of responsibility and expense making retirement plans available for their employees, and this benefit should not be left on the table. If your employer does not offer retirement benefit plans, it is all the more important to establish your own individual retirement savings program. Follow these tips when setting up an action plan for 2013:

Enroll and Contribute. If your employer offers a 401(k) plan or similar contribution plan, enroll and contribute as much as you can up to the maximum limit allowed. The elective contribution maximum limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans is $17,500 for 2013. If you are age 50 or older, you might also be able to make an additional catch-up contribution to your 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans up to $5,500 in 2013. If you contribute to a 401(k) plan on a pre-tax basis, you will be able to lower the income that you pay taxes on in the year of the contribution as well as obtain tax-free earnings on the investments that grow while the money is in the plan. If you contribute to a Roth 401(k), you will not lower your income taxation as a result of the contribution, but your withdrawals in retirement will not be taxed (under current law). Some employers might even provide a matching contribution—such as 50% of your contribution up to 6% of your salary—that you can only obtain if you contribute to the plan. It is important to become familiar with your plan and all of its features, including any vesting requirements for employer contributions. Figure out how to contribute to the plan in an amount that is comfortable for you but also sufficient to contribute to your living expenses in retirement.

Confirm Automatic Enrollment Status. If you were automatically enrolled in an employer plan, you should consider taking a more active role in the program and adjusting your contribution level and investment selections. You might not even realize what percentage of your salary is being contributed to the plan or what it is invested in. If you are able to contribute more than the default amount of your salary that was chosen for you in an automatic enrollment, increase your contribution level and select investment options that make sense for you.

Review Plan Investment Information. Become familiar with your plan investment information, fee, and expense disclosures. Make sure that you understand the investment options under the plan and are making informed choices and actively managing your account. Seek out resources of information that may be available from your employer, plan service provider, online educational tools, or other plan literature and documents, including your summary plan description and investment prospectuses.
Save in an IRA. If you do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, consider establishing your own individual retirement account. IRS Publication 590 provides valuable information regarding individual retirement accounts and how they may fit into your overall financial plan. If you do contribute to an employer sponsored plan, or if your income exceeds the limits for the different types of IRAs available, consider making a non-tax-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA. You can still benefit from tax-free growth on your investment earnings. You can even make an IRA contribution for 2012 by April 15, 2013. The limit for 2012 contributions was $5,000, increased to $5,500 for 2013.

Educate Yourself. There are plenty of books, manuals, and articles available on retirement and financial planning. Start at the Women And Retirement Savings Web page, created by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. This page provides resources for assistance with retirement planning, such as the publications titled Savings Fitness: A Guide to Your Money and Your Financial Future and Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning. Explore all the options available to you, as well as consider other issues, such as health insurance and life insurance. If you already know the basics and want help getting to the next level and managing investments, consider seeking professional assistance with a financial planner.

There is no guarantee that these retirement savings programs will always be available. Employers can amend or terminate plans, and the laws can change. While you have access to retirement savings vehicles, take advantage of them. Get a game plan together and figure out what you can save for retirement. When retirement day arrives, you will be glad that you took these actions.

Don't forget to smile.

Here are some very interesting facts about smiling that you may not already know.

 

1. Smiling releases natural pain killing endorphin's and serotonin, even when a smile is forced!  Its like a natural feel good antidepressant!

 

Just by smiling, your mood is lifted. You can literally trick your body into feeling good! It actually takes more effort for your body to frown than to smile.

 

So frowning sends a signal to your mind something is wrong and this leads to stress.

 

Try to smile at least 1 hr a day consistently for a week and see what happens to your stress levels and mood.

 

2. Smiling reduces your blood pressure.

If you have a blood pressure monitor, take a reading before and after smiling for a few minutes.

 

Notice a difference?

3. Smiling makes you more attractive + successful.

People are more attracted to you when you smile.

 

It makes you appear more confident and a safe person to be around.

 

Successful people are successful because of their ability to attract the right people.

 

So when you are in a meeting or at work smile brightly and see what happens to your day when you do!

Smiling is contagious.

 

Send a big smile out to room full of people and see what happens!

I am sending you some smiles as I write this!

Peace and blessings

  

The 50's misremembered with fondness

Memories of a time that existed only in our memories, while this is a fun video to watch, it is not a realistic view of the times.

However, fun and memories, are sometimes better than the reality. For some, this video is what they may remember but I believe this is but a reflection of a time that as youngsters we remember as good times. For minorities, women, non-heterosexuals and others who were not in the majority, this was not a good time, no matter how we may remember or idolize the times. Enjoy this one persons view of the past, I did even though I lived a different reality than the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDc0ID6PJeg&feature=share 

http://youtu.be/sDc0ID6PJeg 

Retirement Challenges For Women

I found this story at  LodeStar Advisory Group, LLC.® . They claim to be an independent  Wealth Management firm. Their site has a newsletter that you can subscribe to as well as links to good information. The information is geared to an American audience, but I think the information may be useful to others as well.

Women generally live longer than men, which means additional years of retirement need to be financed.  But studies show the average woman continues to have lower earnings and less retirement savings than men, which causes women to have lower income and a lower quality of life in retirement, especially if they become widows.

Here are some significant retirement challenges women face:

Longer life expectancy.  A man reaching age 65 this year can expect to live to an average age of 83, while a woman the same age can expect to live until 85, according to Social Security Administration data.  But those are just averages.  A quarter of 65-year-olds are expected to live past age 90, and 10 percent will make it to at least age 95.

Lower earnings.  Despite their economic gains, women continue to have much lower lifetime earnings than men.  Over the last decade, the median income of women age 65 and older was approximately 25 percent lower than among their male counterparts.

Failure to take advantage of retirement benefits.  Women are now more likely than men to work for an employer that offers a retirement plan.  However, women continue to be less likely than men to be eligible for and participate in a retirement plan at work.  Some women are not eligible to participate in a retirement plan because they do not work enough hours, weeks, or months per year.

Widowhood.  Since women generally live longer than men and tend to have older husbands, they often spend the final years of their lives as widows.  Some 70 percent of women age 85 and older, were widowed, compared to only 24 percent of men age 85 and older.  Because women have longer life expectancies and often marry men several years older than themselves, periods of widowhood of 15 years or longer are not uncommon.  For many, the death of a spouse is accompanied by a decline in the standard of living.

Failing to maximize Social Security. Women generally receive a higher proportion of their retirement income from Social Security than men.  It's especially important for women to maximize the amount they receive from Social Security.  Married women should additionally coordinate claiming with their spouses to increase spousal and survivor's payments.

So what can you do to manage these challenges?

Take the time to understand your finances.  Once a year conduct a retirement analysis. Look at what you own, your spending needs and determine if what you have is going to cover those needs.  What may seem like obvious advice is a crucial step for women to take in ensuring quality of life in retirement—both with her spouse or after she is on her own.  Single women, of course, are on their own, which only increases their responsibility at making retirement planning a priority.

Another issue that must be considered concerns the death of a spouse.  There are probably going to be an awful lot of women who are left as widows with social security as their primary income.  Every woman should look into social security maximizing strategies.  Even if the husband is the higher earner, claiming early is going to drive down his wife’s widow’s benefits upon his death. The later he claims social security, the higher her monthly income will be once she’s on her own.

Working a little longer, maximizing retirement contributions and optimizing social security benefits will go a long way towards helping women ensure a comfortable retirement