monthly income they’ll want to have
in retirement.
A NEW MINDSET FOR
RETIREMENT PLANNING
Given these unsettling statistics,
it’s clear there’s much to be done to
help women enter retirement secure
in the knowledge they can afford
the retirement lifestyle they desire.
For example, for women, financial
security after the death of a spouse
was a top concern cited in the census.
On the other hand, for men, this (19 percent) own mutual funds
consideration did not appear in the compared to one quarter of men.
top three.
One financial product that can provide
Traditional approaches to retirement a guaranteed income in retirement
planning look at only one facet - is annuities, yet only 7 percent of
retirement savings. But you don’t look women have chosen this route.
at the value of your current job by
thinking about the total amount of This lack of adoption around annuities
money you’ll bring in over a 15- or suggests that women have not been
20-year career.
made aware of how these guaranteed
income products can alleviate many
So why would you approach retirement of their concerns around outliving
this way? Instead, just like you think retirement savings and having a
about your household budget today, consistent income stream throughout
it’s more useful to reframe retirement retirement.
planning to think about the monthly
or yearly income you’ll need to live “Annuities can be a powerful tool to
the lifestyle you want.
help women create a steady stream
of retirement income to supplement
Kent Sluyter, president of Prudential other savings,” said Melissa Kivett,
Annuities, says the retirement Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing
planning discussion has traditionally and Customer Experience Officer
focused on accumulating assets for Prudential Individual Solutions
for retirement, rather than how Group. “For anyone, getting the right
consumers can turn savings into a financial advice before buying an
steady income stream that can sustain annuity or any other financial product
their lifestyle in retirement.
is critical. For women especially,
who are increasingly bearing more
“People who have worked hard to save responsibility as primary wage
for retirement need to be educated earners, and being the ‘CFOs’ of their
about not just financial planning but household, it is even more important
also retirement income planning to help close the retirement income
and how to protect a portion of their gap.”
retirement income so they can live the
life they earned,” said Sluyter.
Two dozen of the leading financial
services companies, including
With the right guidance, women can Prudential, recently established the
develop an income strategy to help Alliance for Lifetime Income to
them prepare to live in retirement. address this issue and with a goal of
Still, 66 percent of women don’t promoting greater understanding of
work with a financial adviser, either how annuities can protect and grow
because they say they can’t afford retirement savings. According to
it (42 percent) or they don’t have the forthcoming Alliance Protected
enough financial assets (26 percent), Lifetime Income Index Study, only
according to the census.
two out of five Americans have some
protected retirement lifetime income
When it comes to ownership of the in the form of a pension or an annuity.
various financial products available
to help people invest in their future If you’re interested in learning
income needs, women again lag whether annuities would fit in with
behind. To cite a few examples, 29 your retirement strategy, a financial
percent of women own individual planner can be a helpful resource.
retirement accounts, versus 34 To learn more, visit prudential.com.
percent of men. One in five women
DECEMBER 2018
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