Great mothers are incredibly important in the lives of their children and families. They play a vital role in nurturing, supporting, and guiding their children as they grow and develop. Here are some ways in which great mothers stand out:
Unconditional Love: Great mothers love their children unconditionally. They support and encourage them no matter what they do or who they become.
Sacrifice: They are willing to make sacrifices for their children, putting their needs ahead of their own. They may give up their careers, hobbies, or social lives to provide for their children.
Compassion: Great mothers have a strong sense of compassion. They are able to empathize with their children and understand their feelings and emotions. This helps them to be patient and supportive in difficult times.
Positive influence: They are positive role models for their children, teaching them important values such as kindness, honesty, and responsibility. They set a good example and lead by their actions.
Protector: Great mothers are fiercely protective of their children, ensuring their safety and well-being. They work tirelessly to create a safe and nurturing environment for their children to thrive in.
Great mothers are the backbone of families and play a crucial role in shaping their children's lives. They provide support, love, guidance, and encouragement that help their children to become happy and successful adults.
In appreciation of mothers everywhere, here are some helpful financial tips that mothers may want to consider.
Retirement
Are you prepared for a 20-year retirement? How about a 30-year or even 40-year retirement? Don’t laugh; it could happen. Social Security Administration projects that about 33% of today’s 65-year-olds will live past 90, with approximately 14% living to be older than 95.1
Start with good questions. How can you structure the liquidation of your retirement and brokerage accounts to replace your paycheck and sustain spending during retirement? How might you create other income streams to complement Social Security? And what are some ways you can protect your retirement savings and other financial assets?
To gauge your financial fitness, take a look at Elements® to see how we create a One Page Financial Plan to give you guidance and make sure you're on track for Financial Independence.
Enlist a financial professional, even if it's not us. The right person can give you some good ideas, especially one who understands the challenges women face in saving for retirement. These may include income inequality or time out of the workforce due to childcare or elder care. It could also mean helping you maintain financial equilibrium in the wake of divorce or the death of a spouse.
Investing
Invest strategically. If you are in your fifties, you have less time to make back any big investment losses. So, protecting what you have is a priority. At the same time, the possibility of retirement lasting up to 30 or 40 years will likely require a growing retirement fund.
In the article 10 Best Tips for Beginning Investors, I discuss how your investment time horizon can impact your ability to take risks.
A successive investment policy can be determined. A female head of household may want (or need) to take a different investment approach than the one stated in a couple’s investment policy statement (IPS). This approach needs to be one she is comfortable with, but it must not be so risk-averse that it jeopardizes her potential to sustain her standard of living in the face of inflation.
Long-Term Care and Social Security
Consider extended care coverage. Women have longer average life expectancies than men and can require significant periods of elder care. Medicare is no substitute for extended care insurance; it covers only a few weeks of nursing home care and may only apply under special circumstances. Extended care coverage can provide huge financial relief if a need arises.1
Claim Social Security benefits carefully. If your career and health permit, delaying Social Security disbursements may be a wise move. If you wait until full retirement age to claim your benefits, you could receive larger Social Security payments as a result. For every year you wait to claim Social Security, your monthly payments get about 8% larger.2
For married mothers, it’s wise to retire with a strategy and prepare for a time when you might survive your spouse or partner. As you face retirement, a financial professional who understands your unique goals can help you design a wealth management approach that can serve you well for years to come.
Insurance and Estate Planning
Having inadequate insurance is the most frequent financial mistake I see when working with clients. Do you have enough disability and life insurance to ensure your family is protected? My blog post, 9 Common Insurance Mistakes to Avoid, will help make sure you're on the right track.
A thoughtful estate plan needs to be in place. Up-to-date beneficiary designations, trusts, and other estate planning mechanisms may help assets transfer from spouse to spouse and within the family without contention or undue delay. A good estate plan clearly defines the steps of the asset transfer process for a surviving spouse and other heirs. What Issues Should I Consider When Reviewing My Estate Planning Documents?
An asset map should be prepared for a surviving spouse. Some surviving spouses must search for vital financial documents because a deceased spouse left them in an obscure location. At other times, she is left with only a hazy understanding of how many accounts there are, how they are titled, and how to address the requirements of asset distribution or transfer. Each spouse should have a copy of a document (or access to an online or brick-and-mortar vault) where this information is kept. This is the information from which much of a surviving spouse’s financial future may be planned.
With a clear understanding of where she stands financially, a mother may evaluate her investment and wealth management options and take steps toward the next phase of life with some confidence.
Previous Updates
Saving for College and 529 Plans
5 Signs You're Financially Ready to Have a Baby
Financial Planning for a Baby: What You Need to Know
Keep These Tips In Mind When Reviewing Your Tax Return.