Women, you already know life isnt fair.
Its the same way with retirement savings, and were seeing newly published proof of that.
So, how can women end the gap in retirement savings?
We have seven strategies for you to follow.
What Women Are Up Against
Like we said, life isnt fair.
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1.
Get Started, Pronto
If you arent saving for retirement, start ASAP.
Heres asimple 401(k) guidefor more information.
If youaresaving (good for you!
), take a few minutes tocheck your progress.
Are you saving enough for your anticipated needs?
If youre not doing that, youre basically passing up free money.
Its part of yourcompensation package.
Try Saving Even More
Once youve done that, see if you might go beyond the employer match.
Lots of people do.
The average company match is 4.5%,according to Vanguards annual report on investing behavior.
What percentage of their pay does the average person put into their 401(k)?
For men, its 7.5%.
For women, its 7%,according to Vanguards new 2.5 million-person retirement study.
What If You Dont Have a 401(k) Plan?
Not sure how to start?
Avoid Dipping Into Your Retirement Savings
Experts strongly recommend that you notdip into your retirement savings before you retire.
Maintain your ability to continue working past age 65.
Keep your job skills up to date or learn new ones.
Many employers, community colleges and nonprofits offer classes in the latest technologies and careers.
Or should you delay Social Security to get a higher benefit amount?
Social Security will give you the bigger benefit, but not both.
Full retirement age is the age at which you qualify for 100% of your benefit.
Its 66 or 67, depending on when you were born.
Its important to know these things.
Life isnt always fair, so youve got to look out for yourself.
Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
