Former U.S. President John Adams reportedly said, “Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

The Center for Women at the College of Charleston hosted a workshop recently to provide facts on women and their relative financial situations. It was an occasion to draw women’s attention to a variety of personal and group financial issues. Timely discussionsˇ included retirement; financial planning and management; troubled marriages; boomerang children; separation and/or divorce; financial challenges; changing careers; selling a home, etc.

According to available statistics on women and finances presented at the workshop:

n Women leave the work force for an average of 11.5 years, compared with 16 months for men.

n A woman who leaves the work force early for only seven years in her career may receive half the benefits of her male counterpart.

n Women live an average of seven years longer than men.

n Three in four women are single when they die.

n Seventy-five percent of caretakers of elderly parents are women.

n Fifty percent of child-support payments due are received only in part or not at all.

These are troubling statistics for one to know about, but particularly for women experiencing any or most of them. But these are discussions that must take place, and without hesitation, so that crucial matters can be rectified before they become worse. Aggressive and concerted means must be carried out to assist women at transitional points in their lives.

Here are five recommendations to be carried out on behalf of women and their financial prosperity:

1. Acknowledge the need for personal financial plans. There must be more than a cursory interest in financial plans, and the plans must be dedicated, focused and robust.

2. Subscribe to reliable magazines (or two) on personal financial matters. These might include Kiplinger’s and Smart Money. For persons age 50 and over, seek membership in AARP, an organization that distributes information designed to enhance retirement planning and needs.

3. Seek reliable information about several retirement instruments including Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs, CDs, SEPs, Keogh plans, annuities and company-sponsored pensions. (There are numerous other financial instruments to consider.) Credentialed financial planners or advisers are recommended prior to investments being made for anticipated retirement benefits.

4. Where parents or other family members might warrant the assistance of caregivers, consider purchasing long-term care insurance policies to cover their projected health needs.

5. If possible, work beyond the traditional retirement years, thereby maintaining steady income streams plus enhancing the retirement portfolios. Plan for delayed retirement dates.

These recommendations can be sufficient for persons in any age group since retirement planning begins with initial jobs. But these recommendations are based on the needs of women who are, for whatever reasons, having to further develop financial plans to secure their senior years. These five recommendations are a response to facts and evidence about their situations.

Howard D. Hill, Ph.D., is president and CEO of Associates in Education, an education-related consulting firm in Orangeburg, S.C. He may be reached at educationconsultant@sc.rr.com.

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