Where Are You on Your Retirement Journey?

 

In any new endeavor, finding your footing can feel challenging—and finding advice tailored to you is important.

 

Retirement planning is no different. Women are more likely to live longer than men,¹ and historically more likely to take a break from work mid-career (or scale back hours) than their male counterparts. This has real impacts. For example, women are much more likely to take advantage of certain Social Security benefits than men—93% of all spousal benefit claims are made by women.²

 

As you start your journey toward retirement, we review some steps you can take to pursue the retirement lifestyle you envision, with a focus on options that are relevant to you.   

When You’re in Your Working Years

Early in your career, saving for retirement is a good idea—the sooner you start, the longer runway your investments have. While it may not be realistic to save a lot at first, even a little bit helps. By mid-career, you’re ideally earning enough that you can save substantially each year—we share some options below.  

 

Make Use of Your 401(k). If you have a corporate job, your company almost certainly offers a 401(k), which allows you to contribute pre-tax dollars to  an investment account earmarked for retirement. This has several benefits: First, because the contributions are pre-tax, they reduce your taxable income, lowering your overall tax bill. Second, investments within your 401(k) account grow tax-free, allowing your investments to go farther. (Eventually, when you withdraw the funds during retirement, they’ll be taxed as income.)

 

Another benefit is the possibility of a company match, a common employee perk. For example, your company may match, dollar-for-dollar, the first 5% of your paycheck that you contribute. In many cases, this could mean thousands of extra dollars per year in retirement savings. If available, try to capture all of your company’s match—think of it as unlocking bonus savings.

 

Lastly, 401(k)s are a powerful savings tool in part because they’re automated; the portion of your paycheck you choose to save is routed straight into your 401(k) account, without your thinking about it. This eliminates the temptation to spend it; it’s a well-known psychological technique used by many successful savers. 

 

401(k) Options When You Switch Jobs. As your career evolves, you’re likely to switch jobs and companies. While your 401(k) is always yours, if you do nothing, it stays in the account you set up through your employer. This could be good or bad. Some companies have generous policies toward former employees and unchanged fee structures. In other cases, 401(k)s for former employees may see increased fees—or your old company’s plan may have had relatively unfavorable terms to start.

 

As you move throughout your career, research the 401(k) plans at both your new and old jobs. You may end up wanting to roll your old one into your new plan, or you may consider rolling it into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) if your new company doesn’t allow rollovers, or has a subpar plan. If you do a rollover, be sure you do it correctly to avoid a withdrawal penalty; it should go directly from one retirement account to another without your touching it; your Wealth Advisor can help you work with your account administrators on how.

 

Consider an IRA. Unlike your 401(k) account, which is run through your employer, an Individual Retirement Account can be opened with any company you choose. This gives you the power to find the best option for you. It also means you can create a safe landing spot for your rollovers.

 

An IRA has an additional benefit: if you work for a company that doesn’t offer a 401(k), you can still contribute to a tax-advantaged retirement account. This may be especially salient if you step back from full-time work for a few years; many part-time roles don’t allow access to a 401(k) until you’ve worked at the company for at least 2 consecutive years, for example.³

 

Catch Up Contributions. We all know the midlife crunch: for many women, balancing childcare, work, family life and aging parents doesn’t allow for much saving—or, you may have chosen to pause your career to focus on being the primary caregiver to your kids.

 

As a result, it’s not uncommon to find in midlife that you’ve not saved as much as you’d like. Fortunately, there’s a chance to catch up. Once you reach 50, you can make additional 401(k) contributions beyond the standard limits. The allowable catch-up contribution amount may increase further at age 60, depending on your plan. (Because contribution limits and catch-up limits change annually, check with your Wealth Advisor on this year’s allowed amounts.)

As You Approach Retirement

This is the time when you go from simply saving for the far-off future to strategizing more deeply about how you’ll use the money you’ve put away. There are several things to consider.

 

Don’t Forget Longevity Risk. In this context, longevity risk refers to the idea of outliving your finances—you live longer than you expect and run out of money. This is a particularly important concept for women to consider, because on average, American women live nearly 6 years longer than men. (The latest statistics from the CDC list a life expectancy of 75.8 years for men and 81.1 years for women.¹)

 

Often, the key is to start with a modest budget when you begin retirement: most likely your house is paid off, your kids are on their own, and you have relatively limited external expenses. Work with your Wealth Advisor on calculating the appropriate amount you should spend per year to have a sustainable retirement. Try living on even less—if you enjoy your lifestyle, you’re set and can afford some occasional splurges. If, on the other hand, when you start with a modest budget and it’s not enough, you’ll still have wiggle room to increase your monthly income—after all, there’s no point in forcing yourself to save excess money, when you could safely use it.  

 

Also, carefully consider when you’ll file for Social Security—the longer you wait, the more per month you’ll receive in benefits. If you end up being long-lived, this could be the right choice for you.

 

Adjust Your Investment Risk Tolerance. In midlife and earlier, you likely want to accept greater short-term risk in your investments for the trade-off of greater long-term upside. In other words, when you were younger, you were probably more attracted to growth stocks over municipal bonds. As you age and get closer to retirement, you’ll likely want to adjust this: you’ll soon be using some of your retirement funds as income. There’s value in having a portion of your investments in low-risk options.

 

However, remember your longevity risk—if you dial back your investments too conservatively, you may be doing yourself a disservice. Why? Let’s say you retire at age 63, but plan to live until 85. In this case, you’d still have 22 years until you fully cash out. You most likely would then want to invest at least a portion of your funds for a 20-year time horizon. Talk with your Wealth Advisor about a solution that’s right for you.  

 

Know Your Social Security Options. You can file for traditional Social Security between the ages of 62 and 70. The later you file, the more your monthly benefit amount will be—but you’ll receive fewer overall payments. Finding the right balance can be tricky.

 

Additionally, you should know about several options that may make sense if you are married, divorced or widowed. Many of these options are most relevant to women whose income over their lifetime was substantially lower than that of their spouse, which in turn results in a much lower Social Security benefit amount. This is not uncommon: As of 2025, the average monthly benefit amount for women is approximately $350 a month lower than that for men.⁴

 

Because each situation is very specific to the individuals involved, we recommend you work closely with a Wealth Advisor on finding the right option for you.

 

• If You’re Married. If your spouse is your age or older and earned substantially more than you, he may want to delay filing, while you file early, at age 62. You can then potentially apply for a spousal benefit later to top off your benefit, once your spouse claims his benefit and you both reach full retirement age. In this scenario, you’d still qualify for a full survivor benefit.
• If You Had No or Limited Income. If your benefit at full retirement age is less than 50% of your spouse’s, you’re able to file for spousal benefits, so that your benefit is at least 50% of your spouse’s benefit amount. You are also eligible for a survivor benefit, should your spouse predecease you.
• If You Are Divorced. You may be eligible to file for spousal benefits from your ex, provided you were married at least 10 years, divorced at least 2 years, and not currently married.
• If You Are Widowed. You are eligible for a survivor benefit. This amount is equal to 100% of what your spouse was collecting prior to death, or, if they died prior to filing, 100% of their full retirement age benefit, provided you file at your full retirement age or later. 

 

The decisions you make around Social Security are final once you file, so proceed carefully and work with your Wealth Advisor to review your options. Also, know that Social Security alone is not enough to provide the same standard of living you had when you were working. It typically replaces about 40% of your income during your working life, adjusted for inflation.⁵

You Don’t Need to Plan Alone

Planning for retirement is personal, but that doesn’t mean you need to go it alone. A financial professional can help you work toward a sustainable plan, whether you’re just starting out in your savings journey, or whether you’re about to retire. If you’re ready to get started, reach out to a Wealth Advisor today.

 

¹ National Center for Health Statistics, Center for Disease Control. Life Expectancy chart, accessed on January 9, 2026. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/life-expectancy.htm

² “Do You Qualify for Social Security Benefits through Your Spouse or Ex?” By Heidi Hartmann and Ana Hernández Kent. Published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on April 24, 2024. Available at https://www.stlouisfed.org/open-vault/2024/april/social-security-benefits-through-your-spouse-or-ex

³ “Can Part Time Employees Get 401(k)?” Published by Farther. Accessed on January 9, 2026. Available at https://www.farther.com/resources/foundations/can-part-time-employees-get-401-k

⁴ “Here’s the Average Social Security Check for Men vs. Women” by Caitlyn Moorhead. Published by Go Banking Rates on March 12, 2025. Available at https://www.gobankingrates.com/retirement/social-security/average-social-security-check-men-women/

⁵ “How much of my income will Social Security replace?” by Tamara E. Holmes. Published by the AARP, updated December 31, 2025. Available at https://www.aarp.org/social-security/faq/income-replacement-rate/?msockid=0b6cee81fd0d665c09fcf842fcb46784