Retiring as a Single Woman in Florida
Florida is a preeminent retirement destination because it offers so many benefits for seniors. But retiring as a single woman in any state has its own challenges and considerations that require careful planning. Preparing both financially and emotionally for what can be the most fulfilling stage of your life by knowing what you want and the many benefits Florida offers retirees.
3 Challenges Single Women Face Preparing for Retirement
Women tend to live five years longer than men. A longer lifespan means you need more money not to run out, or get by on less.
A longer lifespan also means higher medical costs, which according to the Milliman Health Cost Index is 13% higher for a healthy 65 year-old woman to spend for the rest of her life than a man.
Women tend to take more time off from work for caregiving than men reducing their lifetime income, savings and social security benefits. In retirement, single women don’t have a partner to lean on to help share living expenses, or for care and assistance when you are sick.
The pay gap. According to the National Woman’s Law Center women earn $0.84 for every one dollar earned by men. The Social Security Administration says the average monthly payment to women is 81% of the average payment to men over 65.
All three of these factors - longer lifespan, women taking more time off from work for caregiving, and the wage gap - all come together with consequences in retirement when you need to make your savings stretch through many unknowns.
How Florida Benefits Retiring as a Single Woman
Despite these challenges savvy single women overcome these obstacles to make retirement one of the most fulfilling periods of their life. Florida particularly as a retirement mecca offers so many benefits and opportunities for seniors to enjoy their retirement years to the fullest.
Whether you are planning for retirement in Florida as a single woman or already retired there, you need a clear understanding and vision of where you are and want to be. Both financially, and what is emotionally rewarding that feeds your happiness and your soul.
One of the things that makes Florida such an attractive retirement destination for so many is how it facilitates the things seniors want. Travel is a dream of how many would like to spend their retirement, and it’s such an easy jumping off point for Caribbean cruises.
For many, travel is an early retirement expectation. But as we grow older managing health issues can become a major focus. Because of the large senior population, Florida has some of the best health care programs for assisted living in the country.
As the state with the second highest number of seniors over sixty-five, so many of the social and cultural events are aimed for retirees. Volunteer work is always some of the most rewarding that makes it easy to stay socially connected and feeling useful for others that so important in retirement.
Ask yourself, “What are you looking forward to the most in retirement?” Chances are Florida offers some of the best opportunities to pursue those things once you have a clear vision. But retirement requires a solid financial foundation for you to fully enjoy it the most.
Important Questions to Ask at Any Stage of Retirement
For whatever reason you are single woman retiree, because you have never been married, you are divorced or widowed, you need to ask yourself the same questions to determine where you are and need to go.
If you are still working, how much longer do you intend to work? Don’t put off planning for retirement until a short time before you plan to quit.
You need to make an assessment of your living costs both now and in the future, and make an honest and realistic assessment of what it will take to sustain your lifestyle.
Many people find they are unable to work for as long as they expected for a variety of reasons. Think carefully about what that would look like if it happened to you. How would you transition into that which could be considered semi-retirement with part-time work, remote work or consulting?
Be realistic about that and the possibly of downsizing or doing without some of the things you have been accustomed to during your more active working life. Downsizing your living situation requires less maintenance costs and can unlock equity for extra capital.
Remember, you can be as young and beautiful as you like on the Internet which today has become one of the greatest benefits of the Internet. Fighting ageism! Giving people of all ages an equal footing online opens up all types of remote work.
How you answer the question “What are you looking forward to? You want to maximize your retirement now that you finally have time to enjoy them! What makes you feel satisfied and content, and how can you make more of that? What keeps the spring in your step that’s so important in our later years to cultivate?
What are Your Health Needs?
Both today and long-term going forward, how can you meet those needs? Do you have any chronic conditions you need to consider? What about your mental health - from stress or burnout - and how do you recover from that?
Again, because Florida has one of the largest senior populations in the country its health care and senior services are one among the best you will find anywhere in the world.
Long-term medical care in the final stages of our life is an often a neglected consideration because these are not living expenses we have incurred before. Costs such as assisted living expenses as a result of disabling diseases, like help with getting food to your home or bathing.
The US Department of Health and Human Services says that the average 65 year-old has a 70% chance of needing long term care in retirement.
Particularly important for single women in retirement who don’t have a partner looking over them to have an advanced medical directive of what should be done in case you are incapacitated.
Protect Your Retirement Savings
As we grow older, we need to shorten our investment horizon and realize that with age, we won’t have the years to recover from volatility in our portfolio as when we were younger. This means monitoring and controlling your investment risks to manage a steadier flow of income as you age.
People are living longer than ever, but nobody stays young forever! Managing our longevity risk, that is the risk of outliving our savings, is one of life’s great unknowns. Protecting your retirement savings by addressing and monitoring investment risk is one of the best ways to support a steadier retirement.
Have Your Estate Plan in Place
None of us are promised tomorrow. While none of us know exactly when that will be, we can and should prepare for the inevitability of our passing to best benefit our loved ones.
Who are your beneficiaries? Who will be your Executor?
Should you set up a trust that has many benefits like avoiding probate? If you are considering a trust, very important to get the help of an estate planning attorney to assess your needs.
Florida Financial Advisors are Here to Help You!
At some point, as we age, we may not be able to manage the risks in our investment portfolio by ourselves. Even if you have been successfully managing your investments yourself, at some point most of us will slow down cognitively. You don’t need to feel alone facing retirement as a single woman in Florida! Get the help of a Florida based financial advisor, preferably a Certified Financial Planning Professional™ (CFP®) to assess your retirement preparedness if you are still working, or to help review and recalibrate your current retirement plan that should be expected to change and be updated over time.
Would You Like to Know More?
Steven Fenyves, CFP®, CFS, founded Valued Wealth Management in 2005. He and his team of professionals help successful professionals prepare for retirement on their terms and stay comfortably retired. They also design corporate retirement plans to serve businesses and their employees.
Steven graduated from Hofstra University with a BA in Accounting. He holds the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) designation and he is also a Certified Fund Specialist (CFS).
Deeply involved in his community, Steven sits on the Professional Action Committee for the Anti Defamation League and is a member of the Greater Boca Raton Estate Planning Council.
