MDNews - Cleveland-Akron-Canton

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FINANCIAL PLANNING  +++ +++ Social Security: A Woman’s Perspective By Paul Guerra S OCIAL SECURITY WILL not — and was never designed to — provide all of the income you’ll need to live comfortably during ret irement. At best, your income from Social Security will supplement that from other sources. So if you’re planning to factor Social Security into your retirement plan – regardless of whether you’re a man or a woman – you should learn all you can about how to enhance your benefits. But for females, there are some unique factors to consider in the equation. Because Social Security generally has annual cost-of-living adjustments, you have an inflation- protected benefit for as long as you live. And for women, those increases are vital since women generally live longer than men. In addition, Social Security provides dependent benefits to spouses, divorced spouses, elderly widows and widows with young children. Consider these numbers released by the Social Security Administration Office of Research and Statistics: + Women who reach age 65 need to prepare for approximately 20 years of living expenses. In 2007, women represented 57 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries age 62 and older and approximately 69 percent of beneficiaries age 85 and older. + The average annual Social Security income received by women 65 years and older was $10,685, compared to $14,055 for men. + For unmarried women age 65 and older (including widows), Social Security comprised 48 percent of their total income in 2007. + In 2004, statistics showed that only 24 percent of unmarried women aged 65 or older were receiving their own pensions (either as a retired worker or survivor), compared to 30 percent of men. Obviously, the lack of pensions is directly related to spending time out of the workforce, working at small com- panies that lack employer-sponsored benefi t programs and holding part-time positions. On average, women spend 12 years out of the workforce caring for others, thereby reducing their projected Social Security benefi ts. Your retirement plan needs to factor in ways to offset this gap. Finally, research by the Social Security Administration found that elderly women are less likely than elderly men to have significant income from private pensions. In contrast, Social Security benefits comprised 37 percent of unmarried elderly men’s retirement income and 30 percent of elderly couples’ income. And did you know that 47 percent of unmarried elderly women depended on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income? These numbers strongly suggest that women need to get retirement plans in place so that Social Security benefits are an income supplement and not a mainstay. Paul Gue r ra i s an Ac c redi ted Investment Fiduciary (AIF) and the President of Brookshire Wealth manage- ment in Canton OH. Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), and member SSIPC. Brookshire Wealth Management is a separate entity from WFAFN. n

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