: Secure Your Golden Years with the Right Choice Introduction In the sunny island nation of Singapore, making the right choice…
For Women to Save for Retirement — If you’re a woman, planning to save for retirement can be hard. Here are 11 tips to help you successfully save for the future.
Plan for the possibility of being single. Women are expected to outlive men by about five years.
The average life expectancy of a woman is 86 years old. The average for a man is 82 years old. Unfortunately, they also tend to earn less and take more career breaks to care for children and others. This means they have less money saved up for retirement and less time to let it grow.
Still, it’s important not to give up hope. Even if you’re behind on saving for retirement, there are several things you can do to get back on track for women to save for retirement:
Women, in general, need more retirement savings than men. The average woman will live longer than the average man, yet women tend to earn less over the course of their careers.
Here are some tips that can help women to save and reach your retirement goals:
Start as early as you can. Time is on your side when you’re young, and you’re less likely to have competing financial priorities. Starting early gives your savings more time to grow before retirement.
Put at least 30% of your income toward retirement. If that seems like too much — especially if you’re a single woman or the sole breadwinner in your family — know that there are many things that can happen down the road that could make it difficult for you to save as much as you’d like when you get older: You might want or need to take time off work (paid or unpaid) due to illness or family caregiving duties; you might need to switch careers for financial reasons; and so on.
Pay yourself first. The idea for women to save for retirement is simple: Put money aside into your retirement savings account before you get paid and spend it on a vacation or a new dress. It’s all too easy to spend money on things you want now, but saving for the future will help you avoid having to live on CPF Life payout alone.
Even if you start small, try to increase the amount you save regularly.
Reduce debt. If you’re carrying a lot of debt, paying it off should be your first financial priority — even before saving for retirement.
It’s easier said than done, but the most important thing women can do to save for retirement is to reduce your consumer debt. If you’re carrying a balance on high-interest credit cards and paying only the minimum amount due each month, you’re spending money that should be invested in your future.
Pay off your high-interest credit cards as quickly as possible by paying more than the minimum amount due each month. Then cancel the card (or cut it up) so you won’t be tempted to charge more purchases on it.
Contributing to your CPF even when you are not working or taking career breaks can help women catch up on saving for their retirement funds.
If you are not working, you can also make voluntary contributions to your CPF, up to the annual CPF contribution cap of $37,740 (i.e.17 months x $6,000 x 37%)
You will continue earning interest on your CPF savings, including the interest that accumulates on the contributions by you and your previous employers.
Get a Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS). Many local banks these tax-advantaged accounts where you can set aside a portion of your paycheck before taxes. These accounts allow your money to grow tax-free until you withdraw it in retirement, at which point the funds will be taxed as income. You might also benefit from saving on $1,000 or more in income tax every year with SRS Account, so take advantage of that benefit.
For women to save for retirement, one tip is to consider a retirement income annuity plan. An annuity allows you to turn savings into income that is guaranteed to last as long as you live. A fixed annuity can provide a steady stream of income for life (no matter how long you live) and give you confidence that your money will last as long as you do.
When you start your Retirement Income plan, remember that you can fund it with your SRS account. Such as these 5 SRS Endowment Plan in Singapore.
You can make regular and substantial contributions to your retirement plan using up to $15,300 of your Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) account monies each year.
Have an emergency fund. An emergency fund — also known as a “rainy day fund” — should be part of everyone’s financial plan. It can be used to pay for unexpected expenses, such as home repairs, medical bills and car troubles, without having to rely on credit cards or loans.
One of the best ways women to save for retirement is to protect their financial health is by building an emergency savings fund equal to three to six months of living expenses. This savings cushion will help you stay out of debt and on track toward your retirement goals if you lose your job or experience a major setback such as a costly medical emergency or unemployment.
Think about the impact of the death of a spouse on your finances and retirement savings:
The death of your spouse could dramatically change your finances, women to save for retirement it’s important to make sure the survivor won’t face an immediate financial crisis at an already difficult time
One of the most common reasons women fall behind in their retirement savings is because they tend to take career breaks to care for children or parents. Even if your career break is only one year, it’s possible that you could be out of the loop when it comes to salary increases and promotions. While you’re out of the workforce, your retirement savings are also halted.
You can avoid this by saving aggressively while you’re still employed, so you can afford to have fewer working years. Also, consider starting a business or freelance work to keep your resume active and earn money on the side — this helps many women to save for retirement. This can help you prove that you’ve been productive during your career break and show off your diverse skills.
You don’t have to retire completely. Whether you want to keep your hand in the workforce or just make ends meet, part-time work can be a great way to do both.
There are many ways that retirees can enjoy the benefits of working part-time:
For women to save for retirement as soon as possible.. Talk to a financial advisor if you want one. Many people are reluctant to talk about money with anyone but their closest friends and family members — and that’s especially true for women, who traditionally took a back seat when it came to investing and other financial matters.
It’s important to get real advice from professionals who understand how much risk you’re comfortable taking and how much money you’ll need in retirement.
These days, it seems like everyone is talking about retirement. Unfortunately, many people don’t save for the future, and end up without the types of retirement funds that they were hoping for. For women to start saving for your retirement, there are plenty of things you can do. Whether you’re a woman or a man doesn’t really matter—you can start saving for your future today.
The key is starting early and starting small: If you do that, you’ll set yourself up for a much better future.
Start early and start small
