Building a strong retirement plan starts with understanding which factors are in your hands, which you can influence, and which you’ll need to adapt to—especially given the unique challenges women face.
- Career & Earnings – Negotiate salary, pursue promotions, switch industries, upskill, or plan career breaks strategically.
- Employer Benefits – Maximize matches, spousal IRAs, and health savings accounts.
- Financial Literacy – Strengthen your knowledge through reading, workshops, or working with a CFP® to refine your budgeting and planning.
- Investment Mix – Choose your allocation across stocks, bonds, real estate, alternative investments and cash—and rebalancing as goals or risk tolerance change.
- Savings & Contributions – Decide how much to invest in your 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA, HSA, or after-tax accounts for each pay period.
- Debt Strategy – Set repayment priorities for loans and credit, though rates may vary.
- Health Care Choices – Select Medicare or supplemental coverage, but premiums and costs fluctuate.
- Lifestyle & Longevity – Manage diet, exercise, and preventive care to influence (but not control) your health span.
- Retirement Withdrawals – Choose your spending approach, but portfolio performance and inflation affect outcomes.
- Social Security Timing – Decide when to claim benefits (62–70), though payout formulas are fixed.
- Gender Pay Gap – While advocacy matters, systemic disparities persist.
- Inflation & Interest Rates – Price changes and monetary policy move independently of individual actions.
- Life Events – Health and Family, can alter even the best-laid plans.
- Market Conditions – Economic cycles and returns are outside personal command.
- Social Security Policy – Benefit formulas and ages are set by legislation.
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