Women need to be Investors

Investing in your future just got more important: Women are living longer so need more savings to enjoy the golden years with their family

Grandparents often gloat that they get all the perks of parenting: cuddles, love and intimacy with their mokopuna – without the 24/7 responsibilities of parenthood. These ‘perks’ come in the golden years that Cath Lomax, a mother-of-three and Chief Client Officer from Fisher Funds, is anticipating - although with all her children at school it’s not for a while yet! And, these golden years are set to get longer: life expectancy has risen dramatically over the last 50 years. According to the CFFC Report, since the 1960s, the life expectancy for men has increased from 68 to 79 years, and for women it’s gone up from 73 to 83 years.

That’s a bonus 10 years for retirement! This is fabulous news for mums who are looking forward to their later years and cherishing time with their children’s children.

Cath, who is a member of Global Women warns, “It also means we need to save more for retirement, and that outliving our money, particularly for women, has become an even greater risk. Being financially savvy and having a plan is all the more important for women.”

A common way to encourage your children to have good financial habits is: grab three empty jam jars and label them ‘Spend’, ‘Save’ and ‘Give’. While this is a very practical and clever way to teach your children to be good with money, Cath suggests forward-thinking mums go one step further and add an extra bucket – ‘Invest’.

Why invest? Interest rates are falling and have been falling for many years now. Low rates make it harder to save for retirement. Cath recommends “To meet the challenge of low rates we need to change our savings mindset. Almost all of us need to adopt a longer-term perspective and become investors not savers.”

Having a sound investment plan is one way to ensure you outlive your money, so you can enjoy your future and your mokopuna! www.fisherfunds.co.nz