Blooming Boomers - Women and Retirement

Blooming Boomers – Women and Retirement

Is your retirement looming off in the not too distant future? Do you have dreams of a life filled with rest and relaxation? Perhaps you envision vacationing year round. Those images sound pretty idyllic, especially if you are currently working long hours and feeling the stress and strain of your job. Working women are continually being stretched in a myriad of directions. That often translates into putting retirement planning and plans for retirement on the back burner of life.

Do you know that Baby Boomers are retiring at the rate of 10,000 every day in the United States! The oldest boomer is now 58 years old; the youngest is 40. They number 76 million in our country. Are you in that number?

The boomers have had a huge impact in our country. The first wave of baby boomers filled up our schools in the 50’s. They changed campus politics in the 60’s with their protests, marches and sit-ins. They were entering the work force in the 70’s and 80’s. The 90’s brought changes to the workplace such as flextime and family leave time. Now boomers are entering the retirement phase of life. They are living longer, retiring earlier and their focus is on lifestyle, not age. Imagine the impact they will have on retirement!

Boomers are redefining retirement as a new career life transition. However, most aren’t prepared for managing that transition. More time is spent on planning a vacation than on the next thirty years beyond retirement! Yes, many have been preparing financially with contributions to their 401K’s, Roth IRA’s, etc. However, retirement is more than finances.

There is the human side of retirement. For retirement to be truly successful people need to embrace the idea of life planning. How can we workers replace the function that work has played in our lives? One of the benefits of work is remuneration. We get paid for what we do. It gives us a sense of financial security.

But work provides us with more benefits than just remuneration. It helps us with the following: time management, socialization, a sense of purpose and status. Let’s take a closer look at those benefits.

Work gives structure to our life by managing our time. At times, it over manages our time and leaves little time for fun. Through our work we have agendas and schedules to follow. We know where we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to do. It keeps us organized.

At work we socialize with our co-workers and clients. We form and develop relationships that give us a sense of connection and belonging. We spend our time interacting and communicating with others to get the work done. We have a sense of camaraderie.

Many of us receive the benefit of status from our work. Our sense of personal worth and identity are derived from work. We experience a clear picture of who we are and what we do. We get recognition for what we do.

Work provides us with a sense of purpose. That purpose gives meaning to our lives because we are helping others in some way. We receive some qualitative measure of satisfaction in our life.

How will the functions of work be replaced when you retire? How will you get fulfilled? Those above mentioned benefits of work are just one aspect of what life planning is all about. There are fourteen other factors to consider when preparing for retirement. For example, how will you define who you are when you aren’t working? How adaptable are you to making changes in your life? How well do you rely your own internal sense for guidance and direction? These are important questions to consider when thinking about what retirement means to you.

Retirement is a complicated process that requires planning and introspection. It’s not just about the money. There are important social, mental and physical implications as well.

Many of you won’t follow the traditional model of retirement. Some will continue working full time at something you truly enjoy while others will work part time because you need the money. Perhaps you will start your own business or volunteer your time to worthy causes. As a Blooming Baby Boomer you probably won’t spend the next thirty years sitting and watching life pass you by. This is the age of a new retirement.

Is it time for you to give some attention to your future retirement? Vacationing year round may not be the solution that puts genuine meaning in the next phase your life. Don’t short change the next thirty years of your life. You’ll want to continue blooming!

Carol Gegner ©2004

For a successful retirement investment plan to work in the stock market, some ‘reasonably sure’ assumptions would have to be made:

The retirement investment plan must take into consideration the one prevailing constant in any stock market security – risk and uncertainty. Understanding that risk and uncertainty are the key factors that propels the return on investment in the stock market far beyond the returns of Passbook Savings Accounts, CD’s or Bonds are a start. The plan’s key factor would be to use the risk and uncertainty of a stock market security to its advantage.

The retirement investment plan should be founded on the belief that no one can successfully retire without financial freedom. Therefore, the retirement investment plan’s main role would be to supply you with income during your retirement years, while also taking into consideration the risk of inflation. This should be accomplished without having to touch the principle.

The retirement investment plan would require discipline to accomplish its goal. The goal should be clear and specific, and the discipline necessary to accomplish the goal, just as clear and specific. Also, the retirement plan should not be financially out-of-reach, allowing as little as 100 dollars to begin, with as little as 10 dollars a quarter to continue.

The retirement investment plan’s return on investment should be aimed toward providing income, and the income from the holdings in the plan should accelerate every week of the year, until retirement. This should be the case, no matter what the price of the security at any given time in the market place.

The retirement investment plan should be proven to you. Once proven, you must have the confidence in yourself to carry the plan forward. This do-it-yourself confidence means that the retirement plan’s ROI benefits only you and your family and no one else. A no-fee plan enhances the return on investment, allowing every cent put into the plan to work for you.

Companies owned in the retirement investment plan should have a historical record of raising their dividend every year. Therefore, a future dividend increase for the 10th or the 35th consecutive year in a row can be ‘reasonably sure.’ The guide for the selection of each security is its historical performance of rising dividends every year.

To receive the best return in the retirement investment plan, all companies in the plan would be purchased commission-free. All dividends from the companies would purchase more shares of each company commission-free. Therefore, every cent earned in ever-increasing cash dividends every quarter and any extra cash put into the retirement plan would work toward increasing the cash dividend.

Why bother beginning a retirement plan is best expressed, in my opinion, by a quote by Charles Kettering:

“I expect to spend the rest of my life in the future, so I want to be reasonably sure of what kind of future it’s going to be. That is my reason for planning.”

To read the PREFACE from the book ‘The Stockopoly Plan – Investing for Retirement’ visit http://www.thestockopolyplan.com

You have permission to this article either electronically or in print as long as the author bylines are included, with a live link and the article is not changed in any way. Please provide a courtesy e-mail to charles@thestockopolyplan.com telling where the article was published. (Word Count 501)

Charles M. O’Melia is an individual investor with almost 40 years of experience and passion for the stock market. The author of the book The Stockopoly Plan – Investing for Retirement; published by American-Book Publishing. The book can be purchased at http://www.pdbookstore.com/comfiles/pages/CharlesMOMelia.shtml