Women work very hard all through their lives. Nothing is easy and as time passes things get progressively worse with age – physically and financially. Not that women are not an organized, responsible lot. They are. However, many a time these qualities are all focused on making the lives of people around them better and their own well-being gets sidetracked. Many things are neglected by women to make the life of their family easier, retirement planning is one of them. But women must remember that only those who help themselves can be of any use to others. Hence, it is important to first plan and take care of themselves. Here are 6 things which will go a long way in empowering them financially.
#1 It’s never too late or too early to start planning.
Now is the right time. You have no excuses! Whether you have just started working, got married or are celebrating your child’s first birthday, it hardly matters when it comes to retirement planning. First things first, get a bank account and use it exclusively for saving and retirement planning. And no it’s not being selfish, it’s about understanding your responsibilities and having a plan for exigencies as well as to ensure a comfortable living.
#2 Think big!
Retirement planning need not be restricted to traditional methods of saving like fixed deposit schemes and gold. To accumulate a large corpus you need to be bold and invest wisely in options which give higher returns. Obviously, the risk involved is higher, but don’t let that scare you into investing everything in an FD! Read, consult, understand and make more money. Equity and mutual funds are good alternatives to start with. Educate yourself, there is so much free advice available on a daily basis on the Net. But don’t get easily convinced about taking any course of action. Study, ask around, evaluate and then take a final decision.
#3 You are blessed with a long life!
Research says that women live longer than men. Now, while that thought is wonderful and a reason to celebrate for all women, it is also something that makes retirement planning all the more important. Long life expectancy also means that you will live for a couple of more years than the average male around you and financial planning has to be done with that in mind – you don’t want to end up with no money and no prospects in the sunset of your life.
#4 Plan for monthly inflows
It’s wise to look at the larger picture and plan accordingly. However, we should not ignore that fact that post retirement, monthly inflow of income from work is cut off. That needs to be planned and replaced with alternatives. A lot of savings happens in the form or assets or large chunks which are not liquid enough. Seek help from a financial planner and figure out how you’ll keep that money flowing every month with a planned approach – enough money to take care of your daily expenses and leave enough for the future.
#5 Less number of years at work
Women spend a couple of years less at work than men. Reasons include break in work life to balance out personal life. Often post-marriage or after a baby women opt for a break to settle in their personal life before taking on professional responsibilities. And that is required as well. What all women must remember is that, this needs to be factored in while planning your retirement. Being a woman and successfully fulfilling all roles is challenging enough. But independence should never be compromised. We need to be financially, physically and mentally fit at all times.
By CreditVidya