Women and men are not financial equals at the time of retirement. Women have fallen behind, held back by a lack of investing confidence and a pay disparity. That creates a $1 million “wealth gap” for women as they approach retirement age, according to the 2018 Age Wave study.
Women make up roughly half of the U.S. population and, on average, live five years longer than men. By age 85, though, women outnumber men by a ratio of 2-to-1.
They lag men in lifetime earnings, making on average 18% less than men. This means most women enter retirement weaker financially and will need to stretch their retirement savings further than men.
Start early
The study found that the pay disparity can only be overcome by working with women earlier in their lifetime earnings cycle. Cindy Alvarez is trying to close this gap and prepare women financially for whatever life brings. She’s developing women-focused financial resources and programming to raise awareness of these issues and help empower women to build, protect and survive with wealth.
The Women, Wealth & Wisdom program is developed for teens, mothers, and seniors, all of those close to and in retirement. Through a toolkit and live series, Cindy is prompting wives, mothers, and daughters to talk about finances and become proficient in money matters.
This conversation takes place where women are – in businesses, homes, offices, conferences, and community venues, and soon online. In doing so, she’s engaging women of all ages in financial planning and encouraging conversations about building wealth.
Financial health resources
Our educational resources center on building, protecting, and surviving the loss of a loved one or spouse with wealth. With individual modules in development, Cindy is breaking down the complexities of investment and tax management to make financial planning, and the discipline to stay the long course, easier at every stage of life.
An intimate conversation
Personal finances are one of the most intimate conversations we can have with others; in fact, one in two women find it difficult to talk with others about personal finances.
Yet looking around, only 14% of all financial advisors are women. This can make it hard to find a woman to talk to about finances, someone that can relate to and understand the fears and issues women face, whether or not they are involved in managing family finances.
Cindy knows first-hand that three things keep women up at night when surveyed across the country: mental health, physical health, and financial health. When it comes to financial health, they want to know answers to pressing questions:
- What does it mean to have enough?
- What if something happens to my spouse – will I be ok?
Lean in and learn
Cindy has a way of bringing these broader issues into the conversation so that women can lean in and learn to help themselves. She’s passionate about educating women and empowering them to discover, define and stay disciplined about financial health.
Understanding personal finance may be even more important for women than it is for men, particularly now. Cindy’s efforts now are critical to shore up future generations of retirees so they are not worse off than current retirees, even in the face of:
- Pension fund and benefits cuts
- Social security uncertainty (trustees of the Social security program project insufficient trust funds by 2034)
- Rising cost of health care
These trends mean women are and will continue to work longer than men, making starting the conversation earlier and letting wealth grow over time all that more important. Only one-third of women have a detailed financial plan; for young women aged 25–34, this number drops to 10 percent (Transamerica). By opening the conversation, Cindy can connect women to resources, advisors, and solutions that support individual, family, and community financial health for a lifetime.
Your invitation
We invite you to lean in and learn with like-minded women. Join Women, Wealth & Wisdom for access to resources and exclusive live events, or to engage Cindy to work with your organization – Click here to claim your spot. Cindy can be reached directly at (720) 962-6700 or cindy.alvarez@wamboltwealth.com.
