Many Women Retiring are Unable to Live Comfortably Due to Massive Debt
Happy retirement is only possible when you’re financially secure enough to do what you want to do. For many women retiring today, this can be ruined by massive debt. Each year, thousands of retiring women are finding this to be major issues as they say goodbye to their regular paychecks forever.
Stats on Women Retiring with Mortgages
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) revealed the following about homeowners over 65 years old who have mortgages:
- 22% has mortgages in 2001
- 30% has mortgages in 2011
For homeowners 75 year old and above, the rate now stands at 21.2%. This is triple the amount of 75 year old homeowners with mortgages back in 2001, which was only 8.4%. There was a time when typically, women retiring no longer owed on their homes.
Janet Taylor, successful businesswoman and AARP’s Life Re-Imagined thought leader and psychiatrist gives her take on women retiring. She agrees that retired people tend to suffer from chronic stress because of debt. This is not the way to retire happy.
Dr. Janet Taylor helps women retiring prepare for their futures.
Image Source: The Root
3 Debts Women Retiring Have to Deal With These Days
These are the three main debts women retiring are left to struggle with once their careers end:
- Mortgage Debt: Women retiring often wonder whether they can pay off their mortgages using their retirement savings. There is no definite answer because factors such as tax brackets, individual assets and size of mortgage payments need to be considered. Some believe that clearing up mortgage debt makes is a necessary part of happy retirement.
- Credit Card Debt: The number of women retiring with an abundance of credit card debt has really increased since 2001. Experts advice individuals heading for retirement to keep credit card debt low. Retired women surviving on fixed incomes end up paying high non-deductible interest rates, which is a waste of money.
- Student Loan Debt: The number of women retirees compelled to pay the cost of educating their children and grandchildren has increased. This includes cases where parents and grandparents take out loans in order to help their financially strapped offspring pay for college. The issue is, some loans compel parents and grandparents to pay for the rest of their lives, especially if they take out interest-only loans to help.
Lessons to be Learned by Women Retiring
Many say that Americans are fat because they eat a lot. Essentially, this means they spend more than most other societies. And, in order to sustain this “fat” lifestyle, many Americans have to borrow more.
This bad habit has cost the US its supremacy as a global economic powerhouse. Many working women, female entrepreneurs and women in business are jeopardizing their financial futures because of this habit. It’s better to put an end to it long before you retire.
Social security is on the decline. The US Government will not be able to meet its financial obligations to women retiring who have been working jobs their entire adult lives. Those who have prepared early enough and braced themselves for this calamity will be safe.
How to Prepare for Retirement as a Career Woman
One of the best ways to women retiring to prepare financially is by starting lucrative side businesses of their own. All it takes is a brilliant idea, hard work, dedication and the determination to put your efforts and energy into your own business venture.
Ready to get started? Contact The Entre Marketing Group to help you start to get your new business venture off the ground today.
