Women and Social Security: The Importance of Leveling the Playing Field With Education
Effective retirement planning requires quite a bit of focused attention, but it also requires an in-depth understanding of the rules and options surrounding Social Security’s key decision points. In a post on plansponsor.com, Journalist and Editorial Assistant Amanda Umpierrez offers a fairly comprehensive look at the dilemma women face in navigating this planning process, leading her remarks with this statement: “Studies have shown that women are more likely than men to make bad decisions when it comes to Social Security or believe that the system will provide them with less income than expected.”
Drawing on several sources (Morningstar, TCRS, and others), Ms. Umpierrez presents an analysis of the obstacles facing women as they plan for, or age into, preretirement and retirement. One of the key points in her assessment is the need for employers to take a strong lead in providing the materials women need to better understand financial issues and retirement financing details. A quote from retirement business consultant Marcia Mantell helps Ms. Umpierrez put a fine point on the issue, “For a lot of women on the cusp of retirement, they know the concept of not wanting to run out of money, but they don’t know what actions to take.” Read Ms. Umpierrez’s post here…
Overall, Ms. Umpierrez’s post can be viewed as a call to action for employers to more aggressively ” … implement educational strategies throughout the workday, whether it’s a lunch hour seminar or a day dedicated to financial wellness, for women—both older and younger—to ask questions.” At the AMAC Foundation, this need for focused educational opportunities has been recognized and has led to an online seminar on the subject. Video recordings of this four-part seminar are available on-demand via the Foundation’s website.