Page 9 - Leisure Living Magazine May 2019

Women, Wealth And Balance
By Elizabeth Skrinak, CFP®, True Alpha Wealth Management, Liz@truealphawm.com
Since 2015, women have
controlled more personal wealth
than men. By 2020 that number
is expected to reach $22 trillion.
Yet women perceive saving and
investing from a much different
view than men. They tend to
be more conservative in their
approach to investing by preferring cash to equities. The primary reason is that they are time strapped. American women have taken on more and more household responsibilities including managing the family’s finances.
It is important for women to allow themselves the time to make sound financial decisions and develop a viable financial plan. Often women are struggling to balance their careers, their children and their parent’s wellbeing simultaneously. However, they should elevate their own financial planning as a priority. Their financial plan should address the issue that women will need to save a larger percentage of their income over their lifetimes due to their longer lives, time out of the workforce to raise families and the gender pay gap.
With a sound financial plan, a woman will be able to achieve a sense of financial equality and independence. The plan will address investing, which is one of the best ways for women to ensure that they have the potential to accumulate wealth. Yet 71% of all assets controlled by women are in cash. With cash as a primary investment, women may miss out on market gains that could be earned over time and even worse, inflation might erode their purchasing power. Women should consider taking on more risk, which generally means investing in more domestic and international equities. Women also need to consider disability insurance, long-term care insurance and sufficient life insurance on their partners as part of their overall financial plan. Their financial plan will incorporate the best strategy for taking Social Security. Women could be faced with lower Social Security benefits since Social Security is based on 35 years of employment. If a woman has fewer
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than 35 years of employment, those years will be assigned as zero income and are averaged in, resulting in lower benefits. One strategy that might be beneficial for working women would be to delay taking their Social Security until age 70, which will
significantly increase their benefits. Consider consulting a financial planning professional for help with various Social Security scenarios.
Finally, incorporate learning about investing and financial planning into your regular routine. Every week, read one article about financial planning and investing. Financial literacy will increase a woman’s confidence in her decisions and prepare her for the adjustments and challenges that major life transitions present.
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May 2019 LeisureLiving | 9