Three Retirement Planning Tips For Women

One day in 1939, Ida May Fuller stopped
by the local Social Security office in her hometown of Rutland, Vermont to
inquire about Social Security benefits. She
knew she had been paying into Social Security, and wanted to learn more. The following year, she received the very
first Social Security benefit payment — $22.54 — arriving as check number
00-000-001. Ida’s story still holds
lessons for women today — and it started with her getting the information she
needed.

Today, signing up for a personal my Social Security account at
www.ssa.gov/myaccount
can help you get information tailored for you to plan for your retirement. It’s never too late to start planning. Ida was 65 years old when she started
receiving benefit payments, but she lived well beyond her life expectancy of 65
years, 4 months. In fact, Ida lived to
be 100 years old, and received Social Security benefit payments for 35 years.

It’s important to create your personal my Social Security account as soon as possible. With your account, you can view estimates of
future benefits, verify your earnings, and view the estimated Social Security
and Medicare taxes you’ve paid. Verifying
earnings is important because your future benefit is based on your earnings
history.

Your Social Security benefit payments will provide
only a portion of your pre-retirement income. You may have to save more to have adequate
income for your desired lifestyle in retirement.

Savings need to be an active part of your plan to
take care of yourself and your family’s financial future. Ida never married. She supported herself. However, you may find yourself widowed or
divorced — and having to provide for yourself for several more years. Unlike in Ida’s day, you can go online
to see if you’re eligible at www.ssa.gov/retirement
to receive a current, deceased, or former spouse’s benefits. It might make financial sense to claim those
benefits instead of your own — since the payments could be higher based on the
individual’s own earnings history.

We encourage you to follow Ida’s example and plan
for your financial future. Please share
this information with your friends and family — and help us spread the word on
social media.