Challenges Women Face in Retirement
As a woman, you have more choices than ever before- from career and leadership opportunities to raising a family or pursuing your creative passions. When you are thinking about retirement there are many ways to help you optimize your later years. Here are some things to consider.
Some women choose to keep working and saving past retirement age, either full or part-time work. According to Statistics Canada, the average retirement age for women in Canada is 63, however many are working longer, either continuing their full-time employment because they enjoy it so much, or because they do not feel financially secure enough to stop working. They continue to work part-time, well past 63 because they want to challenge themselves or they pursue a different career. As with all of life’s major milestones, like leaving work to have children, or taking time off to look after senior members in the family. Having a solid plan in place will make all the difference and will ensure retirement is a positive step for you, whenever you choose to do it. You can do this with the help of a retirement coach.
What factors have an impact on women’s retirement?
Planning for today is not enough. A recent report in the Future of Retirement Series, Bridging the Gap: Women in Retirement, commissioned by HSBC, found that 25% of Canadian women have contributed less to their retirement saving than their spouses, because women often take time off during their careers to raise their children.
Women tend to outlive their partners, resulting in the need to plan ahead. Studies from the World Health Organization show that women tend to outlive men. Women live to 83, Men 76.
A growing number of older women are challenging the idea of traditional retirement. They are leaving the rat race behind to pursue encore careers. Some women simply want to keep working to cover bills and many want to have a combination of rewarding work on their own terms and additional financial security. If you are in this situation there are pros and cons to consider when going into the 3rd act in life.
Some women choose to go back to school to re-train and perhaps start a second career or a new business. If you do want to return to school remember that many universities offer low cost or free courses. Other women may be inspired to volunteer or pursue cherished hobbies such as art, yoga or gardening. Again, what ever your dreams you will want to ensure that your retirement plan offers you peace of mind to in what ever direction you choose.
Take the time to dream about the ways you want to pursue your passions. Retirement is a unique opportunity to life for women. At this point in your life, children have grown up, you’ve fulfilled many career goals – so what’s next? Now is the time to really think about what you do to make the golden years among your most meaningful for you.
Some women choose to keep working well into their 70’s just because they love the work, or they are worried about not having enough money to retire.
Others continue to work part-time or choose to go back to school to re-train and perhaps start a second career or a new business.
Retiring at the same time – Retiring at the same time can be problematic. One person I know observed a real gender-based difference between her and her partner. Her partner was basically much better at retirement than she was. He can be a potter all day and doesn’t have the same sense of loss or guilt which keeps me busy. Others I have spoken to talked about life with your partner is like being like a Venn diagram, where the bit in the middle is what you do together and bits on either side are what you do on your own. Pre-retirement, your children are in that idle middle space and your careers are in the spaces on either side. With both the children grown up and the jobs gone. All those spaces are empty. It’s a very powerful concept
