Loss of a spouse can result in financial vulnerability. Life insurance can help you avoid a financial impact. For more information about life insurance, see WISER’s factsheet: Are You Sure About Life Insurance?
Now available in Spanish!
WISER’s guide, Financial Steps for Caregivers/ Medidas Financieras para los Cuidadores.
Your Future Paycheck® calculator is an annuity calculator. See how a lump sum payment would be converted to a monthly amount.
Five Questions to Ask Your Mother or Grandmother offers help with meaningful conversations to have with important women in your life. The booklet won GOLD honors from National Mature Media Awards.
Planning Tool: The Longevity Illustrator from the American Academy of Actuaries and Society of Actuaries asks about your health and demographics and shows the likelihood that you (and your partner) may live to certain ages.
ACL’s National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers is a roadmap to improved services and supports for family caregivers. Learn more about the RAISE strategy.
Poverty rates among older Americans rose from 8.9% in 2020 to 10.3% in 2021. For many older minority women, the poverty rates were even higher. Pay inequity contributes to this outcome. See WISER’s factsheet: The Story is in the Numbers
WISER and partners, the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc., and MANA, A National Latina Organization, spotlight challenges that put older minority women at risk for poverty in old age and highlight opportunities for change. Report: Your Future Paycheck: Minority Women and Retirement Income
A recent study, ‘Women Have Made Big Strides In Retirement Readiness’ has some good news but it’s “A snapshot of women with college education and careers,” according to WISER’s Cindy Hounsell: “The extent to which women are prepared depends on individual circumstances.” See the article at AARP.org
New report from the Society of Actuaries Research Institute: Long-Term Services and Supports: Usage and Payment by Race, Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Factors.
WISER was well represented on BRN Weekly’s Secure Saturday, discussing how women are still playing financial catch-up to men and provisions of the Secure Act that help improve women’s financial security and retirement prospects.
WISER is 2023 Award Winner of the American Society on Aging’s Advancing Economic Security for Older Adults Award! Awardees were nominated and selected because of their tireless work and unwavering dedication to the field of aging. WISER President Cindy Hounsell will accept the award at the ASA On Aging 2023 conference in March.
WISER’s factsheet The Story is in the Numbers: Poverty rates among older Americans rose in 2021. For many older minority women, the poverty rates were even higher.
Efforts to keep workers from cashing out their 401(k)s gain steam, by Kerry Hannon, Yahoo! Finance Senior Columnist, covers a provision in President Biden’s new legislation that aims to keep workers from cashing out their 401(k) when they move from one job to another—a problem WISER research shows is widespread, especially among younger workers.
Caregivers: be aware of your rights and protections when signing a contract to admit a loved one. See “Know Your Rights: Caregivers and Nursing Home Debt” from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
A New York Times article highlights the financial challenges for for many Latinas when it comes to long-term savings, and mentions WISER, our partner, MANA, and the Latina Savings Project.
WISER partner Transamerica Institute’s latest survey report on women’s retirement shows more than four in 10 working women (41 percent) expect to retire at age 70 or older or do not plan to retire.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has several reverse mortgage resources for prospective and current borrowers and their families:
Your Future Paycheck® calculator is an annuity calculator. See how a lump sum payment would be converted to a monthly amount.
WISER partner Retirement Clearinghouse reaches new milestone in helping workers save for retirement. Press release.
yahoo!money interview with WISER’s Cindy Hounsell: Expert explains the ‘dirty secret’ when it comes to retirement and women
MarketWatch – The divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates gets attention – things to know about ending a long marriage. Interview with Cindy Hounsell (President, WISER)
MarketWatch article by Kerry Hannon: Women have made strides financially — why are we still afraid to talk about money?
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
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
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.
Top 5 Retirement Challenges for WomenWISER’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.
The iOme (I OWE ME) Challenge is a national student competition that encourages students to analyze the current state of retirement policy in the U.S. and propose viable policy solutions to meet the needs of their generation.
Each year, student teams from across the U.S. respond to the annual iOme Challenge question in a 5,000-word essay. The winning team shares a cash prize of $5,000 and an invitation to Washington, DC to present their submission at a WISER forum and discuss it with public policymakers.
Read this year’s Challenge question and register your team today!
Deadline for submissions is May 14, 2023.
The Benefit U Project The goal of the Benefit U project is to better understand independent workers’ needs and priorities and to test an easy-to-use fintech solution to meet their benefit needs.
With support from the Financial Health Network, WISER has built upon the Benefit U Project’s work and piloted an approach to expand financial education and access to benefits while also leveraging the reach of local nonprofits that serve independent workers in specific sectors.
Benefit U – Building Portable Benefits for Independent Workers: A Fintech/Nonprofit Partnership in Appalachia Summary Report, September 2021
WISER 2023 EventsWISER’s Annual Forum featuring the iOme Challenge
Intergenerational Perspective on Retirement Solutions
June 2023
Click below to see more upcoming events featuring WISER.
In this article (and video), Kerry Hannon, Yahoo! Finance Senior Columnist discusses Seniors: This year’s big increase in Social Security benefits is falling short.
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.
SSA Blog, 3/2/23, by Cindy Hounsell, President, WISER
Women’s income security continues to be a challenge. Women are overrepresented in the low-wage workforce, and many must work part-time to accommodate family caregiving responsibilities. As a result, many women have lower Social Security benefits and fewer savings in personal accounts and workplace plans.
How much you will receive from Social Security? Sign up for a my Social Security account to get an estimate of future benefits. Learn more: Social Security & Women.
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