Planning for retirement is on the back burner for many people. It is often easier and more fun to meet up with a friend for coffee, do weekend errands, or just relax and binge watch television. But, especially for singles, it is important to move this task to the front of the stove and start cooking up a plan for your retirement now.
Singles, unlike married couples, face several challenges that make retirement planning even more essential.
First and foremost: you are going it alone.
“There’s no safety net. You won’t have a spouse’s earnings, savings, and 401(k) benefits to fall back on,” says Danielle L. Schultz, a fee-only certified financial planner at Evanston, Illinois-based Haven Financial Solutions.
From the get-go, there are usually fewer dollars to play with in a one-income household.
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“Just because someone is single, it does not mean that life is half as expensive as compared to a married couple,” says Nancy L. Skeans, managing director at Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors in Pittsburgh.
Single individuals should also plan for higher health care and living expenses when planning for retirement, as it relates to having help in the home or having to live in a retirement community later in life, Skeans says.
“Many partners are able to stay at home longer because there is someone in the home to help with the daily activities needed to live independently,” Skeans says.
Don’t despair. There are some advantages. For example, in some marriages one person is a saver and the other a spender. Single people have total control over their financial plan.
“Frankly, singles, particularly childless women and never married, are among the more wealthy people I see in the category of affluent middle class — people who made their own money,” Schultz says. “Women tend to save more when single, be thoughtful and conservative, not get lured by crazy investment schemes, and make a plan.”
To get started, face the fact that you really do need to create a plan.
“I have the privilege of working with many single individuals; some single by choice and some single due to the loss of a partner by death or divorce, and many of these individuals have raised children,” Skeans says. “They prove that a happy and successful retirement is very possible. One common theme among these folks is that they planned, budgeted and saved throughout their working careers.”
Start with a budget. To many, budget is an ugly word. “Learning how to budget early and setting savings and spending goals can put a young person on the path to a successful financial future which, of course, eventually includes retirement,” Skeans says.
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Live within one’s means. Resist the temptation of easily available credit. “Credit is not a bad thing,” Skeans says, “but used unwisely, it can be a disaster.”
Invest early. Because there is only one income, “It is imperative for a single person to start investing earlier and at a higher percentage of their income than their couple counterparts,” says Josh Giuliano, certified financial planner at Citizens Securities in Cranston, Rhode Island. He recommends saving 10 to 15 percent of your pay toward retirement from a young age.
Put pay raises in retirement savings. Guiliano recommends that singles increase their savings as their incomes increase. This can help avoid lifestyle drift. “This is when your income has increased over years or decades and you have no more to show for it,” he says. “You have found that the more you made you simply spent more on things that brought no additional value to your lives. By increasing your savings along the way and thinking of things in terms of needs versus wants can help to curb that somewhat.”
Use tax-deferred saving vehicles like 401(k)s, IRAs and even health savings accounts. Single individuals need to be tax efficient and take advantage of tax-deferred savings as early as possible. “Single individuals’ income becomes subject to higher individual income tax rates more quickly than married couples,” Skeans says. “This can mean that a single individual is losing more of the income to taxes and thus has less discretionary income and has less ability to save.”
Understand Social Security benefits. Singles that have never been married are at a disadvantage again when it comes to Social Security as their benefits are based solely on their work history, Giuliano says. “Widows and divorcees have some flexibility in taking benefits that can help maximize retirement income,” he says.
For health care and property, choose someone to have appropriate powers of attorney. For some childless singles, finding the right person is difficult, but there are professionals who can perform this role if there’s no one else reliable.
“Estate attorneys can refer you to someone who can step in as POA, but it’s always better to have someone you trust, preferably someone younger than you are,” Schultz says. “Also, your POA should know where your important papers are kept, be kept apprised of any changes, and be able to get into your home. Making sure someone has a key can be lifesaving.”
Create a “contact” plan. For many people, work is their source of contact with people, Schultz says, but that source goes away with retirement.
“In retirement it may be all about the grandchildren, and some old friends. But I’ve seen people become increasingly isolated as the grandkids get older and busier, and the friends die, get ill, or move away,” she says. “You need to figure out ways to keep making friends — maybe even younger friends — in retirement by getting out and staying current with trends, new ways of doing things, and new forms of technology, entertainment, food, whatever, or you lose touch with the world.”
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Hope for the best, plan for the worst. If you can handle the worst-case situation, things can always get better, Schultz says. “Even if you fall in love at a late age, and I’ve had a number of clients marry late in life, don’t lose control over your finances, and do not fail to have a pre-nuptial agreement to protect yourselves and your kids if you have any,” she says.
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9 Steps a Single Person Can Take for Retirement originally appeared on usnews.com
