Three Retirement Planning Tips For Women
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: August 19, 2021
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 story still holds lessons for women today—and it started with her getting the information she needed. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, let us consider the following retirement planning tips you should know.
Today, signing up for a personal my Social Security account can help you get tailored information to plan for your retirement. It’s never too late to start planning. Ida was 65 years old when she started receiving benefit payments, but she lived well beyond her life expectancy of 65 years, 4 months. In fact, Ida lived to be 100 years old, and received Social Security benefit payments for 35 years. It’s important to create your personal my Social Security account as soon as possible. With your account, you can view estimates of future benefits, verify your earnings, and view the estimated Social Security and Medicare taxes you’ve paid. Verifying earnings is important because your future benefit is based on your earnings history.
Your Social Security benefit payments will provide only a portion of pre-retirement income. That means you’ll have to save more to have adequate income for your desired lifestyle in retirement.
Savings need to be an active part of your plan to take care of yourself and your family’s financial future. Ida never married. She supported herself. However, you may find yourself widowed or divorced—and having to provide for yourself for 15 years or longer. Unlike in Ida’s day, you can go online to see if you’re eligible to receive a current, deceased, or former spouse’s benefits. It might make financial sense to claim those benefits instead of your own—since the payments could be higher based on the individual’s own earnings history.
In the spirit of Ida, we encourage you to plan for your financial future. Please share this information with your friends and family—and help us spread the word on social media.
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Zara B.
Excellent Article! Thanks for sharing these three retirement planning tips for women with us! Social security and retirement plan has now become an inevitable part of future plan for every individual. I totally agree with these plans, Actually, I am a passionate blogger and make money advisor. I believe online gaming and betting is one of the best ways to earn money after retirement, so you can check this to get top-rated online betting sites that can help you to earn more money. Thank you.!
Praveen S.
Yes those are incredibly interesting retirement planning tips for women with great benefits in future. It is probably very helpful for women thinking about their future and retirement.
Thanks for sharing.
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Elizabeth
I think that any pensioner should take care of the savings. Not in every case, the person will receive a larger pension, despite the length of employment.
Lynn P.
I am 50 years old and divorced. I was married to my spouse for 11 years and have never remarried. He makes 3 times as much money per year as I do, so when the time comes, I want to apply for his benefits. Is there a way for me to get a copy of his projected benefits statement (without asking him) to help me plan for my future?
V.V.
Hi Lynn, thanks for using our blog. To inquire on potential divorced spouse’s benefits, you need to call your local Social Security office. Please look for the general inquiry telephone number at the Social Security Office Locator. The number may appear under Show Additional Office Information. Please be aware that our call wait times are longer than normal. We hope this information helps.
Emma
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Dee C.
When will Social Security be updated to accommodate retirees whose retirement incomes are LOW and yet still have the Social Security benefits wiped out due to the GOP or WEP? I will only receive $2000 in retirement and my deceased husbands SSA which would have been $3k monthly for him will be reduced to $700 per month because of the GOP. That is NOT FAIR!!! He worked for that $ and I will need full SSA benefits in retirement. The program needs to allow for low income private retirement benefits!
Linda G.
Good morning, my exhusband (64)is now retired but I (63) am still working. Can I recieve a portion of his benefits? More importantly, will he be notified? It was a very abusive marriage and divorce.
A.C.
Hi, Linda. We are sorry to hear that. To be eligible for divorced spouse benefits, you had to be married to your former spouse for at least 10 years, and you cannot be eligible for a higher benefit on your own record. For more information on how to qualify for divorced spouse benefits, visit our Benefits Planner: If You Are Divorced. We hope this helps
Linda G.
Thanks so much!!
sekhar
thank u for providing such useful information it is very helpful to aged womens i will refer this site to some people who i know.
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Diana C.
My full retirement is 66 and 4 months, I am now 65, if I start drawing my SS and still keep working, I understand I will receive a discounted amount.
My question is when I am at my full retirement age will my month payment go up to the full amount, (still working), and as long as I keep working it can continue to increase each year?
A.C.
Hi, Diana. Thanks for your questions. Your payment amount is based on when you decide to start your benefits. If you choose to get benefits before full retirement age, they will be reduced. The amount you receive when you first get benefits sets the base for the amount you will receive for the rest of your life. Your benefits are reduced a fraction of a percent for each month before your full retirement age. As far as working and receiving an increase in benefits based on that work, each year we review the records for all working Social Security recipients to see if additional earnings may increase monthly benefits. If your earnings for the prior year are higher than one of the years we used to compute your retirement benefit, we will recalculate your benefit amount. Generally, we will send a letter explaining any increase in your benefit amount. We hope this helps.