March 2021

March is Women’s History Month. In fact, there is a whole website dedicated to women’s history: https://womenshistorymonth.gov/. During the month, International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8^th. It is a day famous around the world as a focal point for the women’s rights’ movement. March 24, 2021 is Women’s Equal Pay Day. This date is the additional time into 2021 that women need to work to earn what men did in 2020. You read that correctly, women must work almost three full months longer to equal a man’s annual 12-month salary. Don’t get me wrong, so much progress has been made, but there is still room for improvement.

In 1980, women earned 64 cents for every dollar a man earned and today women earn 82 cents for every dollar a man earns. To put this in perspective this means that if a woman is working a 9-5, Monday through Friday job, she is essentially working for free every day at 2:40pm. This does not take into consideration the wage gap for women of color, which is still much larger.

So why am I sharing this with you? Well, I find it interesting, but also what and how we earn as women affects our retirement. Since this wage gap exists, our financial ability to save in a retirement plan could be diminished. In addition, because our social security benefits are calculated based on our earnings, we may have much less coming to us at our full retirement age, than our male counterparts. As a result, we need to get creative so you can have the retirement you want.

There is no one correct answer to this issue, so let me highlight a few things to consider. If you are still in the workforce, don’t hesitate to negotiate your current salary with your employer. I know…it’s hard to talk money, but you deserve it! You have worked hard to get where you are and you deserve to receive fair compensation. If you are near the end of your career, perhaps it is more important to focus on what your retirement plan currently looks like and what options you have for additional savings. That is a conversation to have with Cliff and me. We can look at your plan and offer options to help you meet your goals. Beware; don’t get mad if we use a few choice words with you, such as budget or planning. Budget may sound like a dirty word, but remember it isn’t there to say you can’t spend; it is simply a tool to show you where money is coming and going. Once you know where you are spending, you will be able to plan and save. If you are already in retirement, then lean on us to help create that roadmap for the next years. Whether it is helping with your social security strategy, or discussing the best investments for your situation, Cliff and I are here to help you.

We celebrate women in March because, well, let’s face it, we are amazing! We know that while we can each do so much, by working together we can all do so much more. You’re not in this alone, we are here to help YOU! So celebrate your accomplishments – I know there are many!

Sources: time.com; fairygodboss.com; monster.com; workingmother.com; inhersight.com; raymondjames.com