Two essential retirement guides for women

Financial planning pioneers share their experiences and wisdom on the challenges of retirement.

We often hear about the unique challenges that women face in retirement. They tend to earn less — and save less — during their working years. Yet as a result of longevity, they often end up alone and need to stretch their money over decades. Now two new books from leading financial advisers offer hope, insights and guidance for women as they age.

“Women Wi$e,” written by financial planning pioneers Eleanor Blayney and Marjorie Fox, combines comprehensive and practical financial advice with deeply personal anecdotes about the challenges both authors confronted during their 60s and 70s.

Blayney and Fox tackle some of the biggest retirement obstacles that women face, from optimizing Social Security benefits and choosing a Medicare plan to deciding whether to remain in their own homes or move to a senior community.

Both Blayney, long recognized for leadership in the financial planning industry’s efforts to attract more women to the profession, and Fox, founder and CEO of FJY Financial, were selected by InvestmentNews as Women to Watch in 2015.

Despite more than 60 years of professional financial planning experience between them, both women felt they had stepped into uncharted territory when they retired. They realized there were many events, such as health issues, family needs and the sudden death of a spouse, that they now had to face alone. Their very personal stories, encouragement and sage advice are likely to resonate with women, both those already retired and those contemplating their next chapter.

“Women Wi$e” explains retirement income strategies such as annuities and various ways to tap invested assets — concepts familiar to financial advisers but alien to many consumers.

“The switch from accumulating to decumulating is unfamiliar to most people and a bit frightening,” the authors note. “On the one hand, this gives us tremendous freedom. On the other, it imposes a daunting responsibility.”

Blayney and Fox also offer a crash course on reverse mortgages, explaining Fox’s own decision to tap her home’s equity to create a stand-by line of credit or meet unforeseen financial needs.

When it comes to estate planning, the authors appeal to women’s sense of order, posing the question: “Does your estate plan leave a legacy or a mess?” They offer guidance on how to tie up financial and legal loose ends.

They also discuss the issue of lost identities and sense of purpose at the beginning of their retirements, exacerbated by the isolation of the Covid pandemic, and how they eventually learned to connect with their new communities and new lives.

“Our elder years are the time we often begin to focus on building our legacies, shaping the narrative of our lives that will be later told by those we leave behind,” they write, challenging readers: “What do you want to be remembered for?”

Alexandra Armstrong, herself a legend in the financial planning profession, called “Women Wi$e” a “valuable resource for both financial planners and their female clients and belongs in every financial planner’s library.”

Armstrong, the first woman in the U.S. to become a certified financial planner and the adviser for whom InvestmentNews named its annual Lifetime Achievement Award, noted that Blayney’s and Fox’s status as senior single women really helps readers relate to the content.

Armstrong is also the author of her own retirement book for women, “Your Next Chapter: A Woman’s Guide to a Successful Retirement.” Written with co-author Mary Donahue, a psychologist whose practice focuses on women addressing life-altering issues, “Your Next Chapter” is designed to help women navigate the unfamiliar waters of retirement on both an emotional and financial levels.

The authors present detailed scenarios of four hypothetical women living in various situations and different geographical areas as they approach retirement. Through these four profiles, the authors help readers discover what retirement means to them, how their emotional and physical health may be affected by retirement, how to revise their investment and estate plans, and why planning should be flexible and adaptable as needs and desires change.

“Your Next Chapter” focuses on the issues women need to address so they can have a sustainable and rewarding future.

[Questions about Social Security rules? Find the answers in Mary Beth Franklin’s ebook at Maximizing Social Security Retirement Benefits]