Social Security
Social Security: 5 Factors that Impact Your Benefit Amount
1. Social Security benefits are calculated based on your highest 35 earning years. For years that income is not earned, a zero is used in
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About Our Programs
Women's Financial Challenges:
Highlights
Available in Spanish!
WISER’s guide, Financial Steps for Caregivers/ Medidas Financieras para los Cuidadores.
Five Questions to Ask Your Mother or Grandmother offers help with meaningful conversations to have with important women in your life. Awarded GOLD honors from National Mature Media Awards.
The Broadcast Retirement Network features an interview with Cindy Hounsell of WISER and Ramsey Alwin of NCOA discussing the results from the recent “What Women Say” survey. Watch the video here.
WISER’s Financial Caregiving Hub is a one-stop clearinghouse for information, tools, and resources to help family caregivers.
Your Future
Paycheck® Calculator is an annuity calculator. See how a lump sum payment would be converted to a monthly amount.
Poverty rates among older Americans rose from 8.9% in 2020 to 10.3% in 2021. For many older minority women, poverty rates were even higher. Pay inequity plays a role. See WISER’s factsheet: The Story is in the Numbers
WISER / National Council on Aging (NCOA) National Surveys – What Women Say: Insights and Policy Solutions for Lifelong Financial Security includes a website, factsheet, and press release. Findings: half of U.S. women ages 25+ are struggling financially, and 90%+ support bipartisan policy solutions to help.
Poor longevity literacy is an unrecognized barrier to retirement security, a new TIAA report shows. Workers with strong longevity literacy tend to be better prepared for retirement.
Life can be unpredictable. An emergency fund acts as a financial “safety net” during a time of need and can prevent the use of credit cards or high-interest loans to pay for expenses. See WISER’s Factsheet.
Misplace your Social Security Benefit Statement? Get a replacement form instantly with your personal mySocial Security account.
A U.S. Census Bureau infographic illustrates the gap between women’s and men’s earnings by occupation.
News from WISER
REGISTER for WISER’s
Annual Women’s Retirement Symposium, Addressing Women’s Retirement Gaps: Advancing Solutions on Sept. 24th at 1pm ET. Attend virtually or in person in DC. AGENDA
Women worry more than men about outliving their retirement savings. Should they? Yahoo! Finance article/video from Kerry Hannon
WISER referenced in USA TODAY—Longer lives, lower pay: Why saving for retirement is harder for women
With Social Security Video Connect, you can meet with a Social Security representative via video. To use this service, you need access to a Microsoft Teams compatible device (desktop, laptop, tablet, or smart phone with web camera). Request a video appointment by contacting your local Social Security office or calling 1-800-772-1213 between 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
New Research: National Council on Aging (NCOA) and WISER’s What Women Say survey finds American women ages 25+ face significant economic stress, and are concerned about how to pay for health care and other expenses in retirement. Across demographic and party lines, women express strong bipartisan support for federal policy solutions that could help.
The Latina Savings Project and WISER were featured on a segment on Wisconsin Public Radio, Latinas in Wisconsin find financial savings success through national program.
Top 5 Retirement Challenges for Women
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Women usually live longer than men but tend to save less for retirement
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Women make 82 cents to every dollar a man earns.
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Women are more likely to work part-time jobs without access to workplace savings plans.
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Women are still the primary caregivers, often leaving jobs to care for family members.
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Older women rely on Social Security; for many it is their only source of income.
WISER’s goal is to help women make the best financial decisions they can by providing the information and resources needed to take action and create a secure financial future.
* WISER’S PUBLICATIONS AND FACT SHEETS ARE AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT FOR PERSONAL AND INDIVIDUAL USE ONLY.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE MULTIPLE COPIES FOR DISTRIBUTION, PLEASE CONTACT WISER. *
Featured Resources
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Older Women and Poverty
Every day more than 10,000 people in the United States turn 65. From 1969 to 2020, the portion of people over age 65 who were
Featured
I-Bonds Paying Interest Rate of 5.27%
Savings Bonds are often considered a safe and trustworthy investment because the U.S. government backs them. There are different types of savings bonds, the most recent and one of the most popular types being the I Bond. A key feature of the I Bond is that it is inflation-protected.
Media Highlights
The Broadcast Retirement Network features an interview with Cindy Hounsell of WISER and Ramsey Alwin of NCOA discussing the results from the recent “What Women Say” survey. Watch the video here.
Her Two Cents Podcast is hosted by Laura Webb and Faith Doyle. Somebody to Lean On: The Cost of Caregiving features Guest Cindy Hounsell of WISER, the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement and a discussion of the cost of Caregiving and how you can protect yourself both financially and emotionally as you navigate this journey with your loved one.
Corporate gerontologist and caregiving expert, Sherri Snelling interviews Cindy Hounsell of WISER (Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement) on the Caregiving Club. Cindy talks about a new tool from WISER for caregivers called the Caregiver Financial Hub.
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