Mothers are some of the hardest-working people we know. As their child grows, a mother
provides unconditional love and support at every stage of her child's life. Even as her child
enters adulthood, she continues to provide guidance, love, and support to ensure her child will grow up to be a successful individual. However, when a mother does so much to support her family, how much is she supporting herself?
Preparing for Retirement
When preparing for retirement, both men and women tend to fall short, whether from not starting their retirement fund early enough to not having enough income to contribute a sufficient amount for their retirement. However, the situation can be worse for women due to the gender pay gap that they still face. According to the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), "older women receive about 80 percent of the retirement income older men receive". With that being said, women need to start saving early and stay focused on gradually increasing how much they are setting aside for retirement savings throughout their careers.
Stay at Home Moms
Some mothers choose to leave their profession to be stay-at-home moms for their children and a caretaker for their families. However, these moms just need to be aware and prepared for unpredictable outcomes such as getting a divorce or having their spouse pass away. These unpredictable outcomes aren't necessarily what one wants to think about occurring in the future, but it's better to be safe rather than sorry. As a stay-at-home mom, you want to make sure you also have some retirement saved up if your spouse dies or you and your spouse get divorced because you don't want to be left without any retirement. Besides saving for yourself, a stay-at-home mom also has the option of talking with their spouse about setting up a Spousal IRA, where their spouse can contribute to their retirement savings.
Single Mothers
Like stay-at-home moms, single mothers need to be saving early. As single mothers, we know it's hard to try to set money aside for yourself while focusing on making sure your children have all they need and more. However, there are times you do need to put yourself first and think about what your future looks like once your kids are grown. You want to make sure you can support yourself through your retirement without struggling to try and make ends meet.
How Can You Better Your Future?
Go ahead and start an account for yourself, one that you can't touch until your retirement. If you get the urge to take the money out for others, be a little selfish and tell yourself, 'no.' You have to keep telling yourself, 'I need that money for my retirement and my future.'
If you or a mom you know needs help with any retirement needs, ValuTeachers can help.