Branch community member Anita Knotts recently reminded us just how important it is for ALL women to be proactive when it comes to planning for their financial future.

“A new study from the Boston College Center for Retirement Research suggests that it is not just single and divorced women who are at risk,” writes Anita. “Married women in two earner households can also be financially vulnerable. Often only one of the partners has saved in a workplace retirement plan. Plus, the study found spousal benefits through Social Security decline or fully go away for two-earner couples, making income replacement from Social Security more difficult for couples.”

What can we do now to secure our financial futures?  Anita shares some strategies in her latest post for Calamos Investments:

1. Determine how much income you are going to need in retirement to cover your expenses as well as how much you expect to receive from things such as social security, pensions, etc.  If there is a shortfall, that’s how much you will have to save.
2. Make investing for retirement a priority. Maximize your workplace contribution or set aside additional money in an IRA or Roth IRA.
3. If you are married, make sure both spouses’ separately save for retirement.
4. It is important to have savings in both spouses’ names. How assets are itled can be meaningful later to demonstrate you have financial status.
5. Take advantage of catch-up contributions starting at age 50 for both IRAs or workplace 401(k) contributions.
6. If necessary, be aggressive about reducing spending/ increasing savings.

Read Anita’s entire post here.