Women need to make significant changes in their investing habits in order to provide for themselves during their retirement years. One excellent site for women is at Vanguard. Another good article to review is on women's psychology of investing.
The most critical issue facing women today is whether they have spousal protection that affords them guaranteed access to their husband's retirement funds. This is especially important to older women who until 1997 could only invest $250 per year in a spousal IRA, because they chose to stay home and take care of the family. No fault divorce laws have intensified this problem as the divorce rate has soared by 250% from 1960 to 1980 leaving large numbers of women and children in poverty. If you are a woman facing divorce and do live in a state without spousal protection, there is still a legal avenue for protection.
Women have a lot of catching up to do in order to solidify their financial future. They have been limited by the salaries they could earn, the level of retirement savings they could have, and the retirement options that were available to them. Now that laws have changed and career opportunities have broadened, there are many new opportunites to correct past mistakes. Women need to quickly become aware of these opportunities and take advantage of them.
To Ask Lita a Question
To ask Lita a question or to discuss the issue further, just click this link to Women's Long Term Investing Issues.
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