Financial Fitness Week Tips for Women
Duke employees received savings advice during a women’s financial workshop
Standing in front of about 100 women spread throughout a conference room in Durham’s Hilton Garden Inn, Shanna Crumpler directed them all to close their eyes.
During a recent Financial Fitness Week workshop geared toward women, “Postcards from the Future: A Woman’s Guide to Financially Ever After,” Crumpler, a TIAA financial consultant, told the group to fast forward into retirement.
“Where are you at?” she asked. “Are you on the beach, curling your toes in the sand? Are you trekking in France and Spain? Do you smell cookies baking for your grandkids?”
Teresa Chicarelli, a staff specialist in Duke’s Office of Research Administration, shared her retirement dream with the group: She imagined sitting on the back porch with her husband, Vince, while drinking a cup of coffee.
Chicarelli and her husband got married last year. Before that, she wasn’t putting a lot of thought into her retirement plans, but now, they plan to retire together in 15 years.
“I’ve actually been spending a lot of time thinking about retirement,” said Chicarelli, who turns 50 this year. “I have a husband now and I enjoy being with him.”
During the workshop, Chicarelli and other participants learned how to make sure their retirement savings were on track with their dreams. Here are some of the takeaways:
Women face a unique financial challenge
Women live, on average, two years longer than men, which means they need two more years of retirement savings to draw from, according to TIAA, one of Duke’s investment carriers.
However, due to the country’s gender wage gap and the fact that many women take time away from work to care for a new baby or other family members, women must be focused on making saving for retirement a priority. Crumpler, the TIAA financial consultant, recommended that women meet with a retirement consultant every 12 to 18 months.
Measurement for retirement readiness
Will you have enough money set aside by the time you are ready to retire?
An asset-to-salary ratio (ASR) calculation can provide an approximate answer. This method considers a person’s age, assets, income and expected Social Security benefits to determine if that person will have enough money in retirement.
Using the above chart, decide if you want to replace 70 or 90 percent of your income in retirement. Figure out how many years you have until retirement, find the corresponding number on the dark purple or light purple line in the chart, and multiply that number by your current annual salary, according to TIAA.
For example, a 35-year-old staff assistant plans to retire 30 years from now and wants to replace 70 percent of her income. Her ASR is 1.7. At this point in her career, she should have saved 1.7 times her current annual salary to be on track.
An online financial forum for women
Duke employees can share financial advice and ask questions by joining TIAA’s free “Woman2Woman” online community.
Users don’t have to be TIAA clients to join. Register on the site, then search for discussion topics or ask financial experts questions. Topics include emergency funds, ways to save on the cable bill, paying down credit card debt, and more.