Women, The Perilous Paradox, and The Retirement Thing

Are you planning on seeing The Thing this weekend? If so, there are a couple points you might want to bear in mind…#1 – This ‘prequel’ to a scary movie from the past doesn’t sound like it’s for the faint of heart. According to reviews, The Thing is ‘hair-raising, teeth-chattering, suck-your-thumb, put-911-on-speed-dial and want-to-sleep-with-the-lights-on’ kind of scary.  Thus #2…if you go see it, you might want to plan on an unproductive day the following day. If you’re like us, there will be absolutely positively no worthwhile sleep in your immediate future.

Luckily, The Thing is just make-believe. What’s more scary is the thing lurking down all our roads … retirement. Yes, most of us are looking forward to retiring, in a purely abstract kind of way. But let’s face it. Retirement is a scary thing to contemplate. Especially when you factor in the ‘perilous paradox’.

The perilous paradox is a hair-raising financial trend that is affecting more and more women every day. If you think it sounds a little scary – it is. The paradox is that women are living longer (a good thing) but longer life spans ultimately lead to women incurring more expenses and facing more economic hardships in retirement (a bad thing).

So…what to do about it?

We believe that, as a woman investor, you should invest like a woman, for a woman. We’ve all heard that ‘investing like a woman’ means you take less risk, save less money. To us, ‘investing like a woman’ means being knowledgeable, fearless, and taking control. It means customizing a gender-specific retirement plan that helps you address the perilous paradox of living longer while needing more money to live on.

WMP can help you face the perilous paradox head-on by showing you how to:

• Change your savings formula.  Gender longevity is something we have to factor into your long-term savings calculation.  At WMP, we can guide you towards a realistic plan that may differ than other advice and information you may have received in the past.
• Plan for contingencies.  Women typically pay more attention to their healthcare needs so they end up spending more money than men. More and more women are also providing long-term care to loved ones, which they’re paying for out of their own wages or retirement income. The need for long-term care is almost three times as likely for women than men. These are just a couple of things life can throw at you in before or during retirement. Let us help you be prepared by showing you simple investment and savings strategies that specifically address the unique needs of women.
• Consider investment products that provide principal protection and an income stream you can’t outlive. Investing in a high quality fixed income product may be the most important step you can take to help alleviate your fears about retirement.

With a few proactive steps with WMP, the perilous paradox can be circumvented.  Planning for retirement should not be a hair-raising or even a sleep-depriving event. Remember, no matter how scary planning for retirement may seem to you right now, there are no prequels to this life.  So call WMP today so you can start planning now for THAT THING known as financially sound retirement.

Cathy DeWitt Dunn of DeWitt & Dunn, LLC, is the driving force behind Women Money & Power. With decades of experience in the financial services industry, Cathy has dedicated her practice to educating clients on how to take maximum advantage of financial solutions that are not available in traditional brokerage houses. Cathy is proud to be on the forefront of innovative financial solutions for the individual investor.