Trixie Rowein
Portfolio Manager and Financial Advisor
Are You Prepared For Retirement?
“It’s best to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret.”
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Olympic gold medalist
Do you know that people spend more time planning their vacations than they do
their retirement?
According to a survey conducted by Charles Schwab, more than half of those
surveyed spent five hours or more exploring vacation possibilities, meanwhile
a mere 11% said they had spent that amount of time evaluating their retirement
options. The lack of proper planning can lead to a retirement that is far from ideal.
Vacations last days to weeks yet retirement can last years or decades so why do
we spend so little time planning for retirement? In my work with clients who are
approaching retiring and those living in retirement I have found that it is fear of
the unknown future that prevents many from planning. Vacations are fun and
fill us with excitement yet retirement planning produces anxiety in almost every
person I talk to.
Women especially have to be concerned with retirement as women live longer compared
to men, earn and save less than men and traditionally have left the finances up to their
spouses. Did you know nearly 90% of women will become single during their adult
lifetime by divorce or widowhood? What that means is nearly 90% of women will have
to manage their finances on their own at some point in their lives, according to
personal finance expert, Kerry Hannon. Both of my grandmothers were widowed
very young at age 35 and 54 respectively and they had to find a way to raise
families and plan for their future with little in the way of financial resources.
I admired them for overcoming their fear of the unknown future and learned that
proper planning often leads to the best use of your resources, be it time or money.
Being the first person in my family to attend university and get a degree I faced
many unknowns as I had no one to turn to for advice. Women are often in a
similar situation when it comes to finances and retirement as women in
general do not discuss these topics or ask for advice. As part of my commitment
to educate and empower women, I host an annual women’s conference where
guest speakers and myself share useful information that can help women and
their families. I’ve heard many times that luck favours the prepared and being
prepared means having an understanding of your finances and investments as
that makes planning for retirement a bit simpler. Clients tell me that our meetings
are very helpful as it gives them a clear picture of their finances and confidence
that they have enough to enjoy retirement. We don’t know what the future holds
but we can plan better for the future by getting a better handle on where we are today.
Portfolio Manager and Financial Advisor
TRIXIE ROWEIN , B.COMM, CFP®, CIM®
Private Investment Management Group
of Raymond James Ltd.
Phone 780-414-2520
Fax 780-414-2599
[email protected]
www.howdenroweingroup.com
Trixie Rowein is a Financial Advisor with Raymond James Ltd. The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of
Raymond James. This article is for information only. Raymond James Ltd., member -- Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
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