Cindy Hounsell, President, Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement

Social Security: Learning How the System Protects Your Financial Future

March 2, 2023 • By

Reading Time: 2 Minutes

During Women’s History Month, we recognize women innovators and those who have dedicated their lives to telling our stories both past and present. One important story from the last century concerns the status of women in the workforce. More and more women have entered the workforce every year, into many new professions and more prominent […]

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Survivor Benefits: Four Tips Widows Need to Know

May 27, 2022 • By

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Months before the first Social Security check was issued in 1940, lawmakers made changes to the planned benefits. Instead of the retired worker’s benefit ending when he died, his widow could collect a survivor benefit for her lifetime. Since then, the eligibility rules for survivors have improved. The age requirements are lower, surviving ex-spouses are eligible, […]

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Three Retirement Planning Tips For Women

March 19, 2021 • By

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One day in 1939, Ida May Fuller stopped by the local Social Security office in her hometown of Rutland, Vermont, and said, “I knew I’d been paying into Social Security and I wanted to learn more.” The following year, she received the very first Social Security benefit payment—$22.54—and it arrived as check number 00-000-001. Ida’s […]

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Why Women Need to Plan Carefully to Make the Best Retirement Decisions

March 30, 2020 • By

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At the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), we are often asked why we focus on women. The answer is simple.   There are 5.8 million more women than men at age 65. Also, 67 percent of people over age 85 are female. Many individuals age 85 and over end up living in poverty […]

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Women need to understand their Social Security benefit…but that’s not all!

March 13, 2017 • By

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One of the biggest mistakes people make is simply not taking the time or waiting too long to understand how the retirement system works. If you’re worried that you won’t have enough money to last throughout a longer lifetime, take action by doing something about it. According to a 2016 survey, only 40 percent of […]

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