Are you a part of 81% of women who aren't confident their money will last in retirement?
I ask because it’s more important than ever. 90% of women will be solely responsible for their finances at some point in their lives. They also have an incredible opportunity to enjoy a longer retirement thanks to their often longer lifespan, compared to men.
The key to making the most of this opportunity and improving your confidence is ensuring your financial foundation supports all the experiences you want to have.
Why Traditional Retirement Planning Fails Women
After nearly two decades helping women navigate retirement transitions, I've witnessed a consistent pattern: traditional retirement planning assumes scenarios that don't match women's actual experiences.
Traditional retirement planning was developed for 30-year retirements. The widely-used 4% withdrawal rule, standard asset allocation advice, and most financial planning calculators all assume three-decade projections.
This mismatch creates significant problems for women's longer timelines, including:
- Prolonged market exposure: Your money faces additional years of inflation and market volatility
- Higher healthcare costs: Women are twice as likely to need long-term care for longer periods
- Ongoing family responsibilities: You're more likely to manage finances for aging parents while supporting your own retirement
One of the most critical issues is sequence of returns risk. When markets crash early in retirement, traditional planning forces you to sell investments at steep losses while you still have decades of withdrawals ahead—potentially devastating your entire financial plan.
Consider this scenario: Traditional planning might put all your retirement savings in a balanced portfolio. If the market crashes 30% in your second year of retirement while you're taking withdrawals, you're forced to sell investments at steep losses with 33+ years still ahead.
This sequence of returns risk can devastate your entire financial plan.
The Solution: Planning for Your Life's Phases
Here's the key insight many people miss: your 35+ year retirement won't be one continuous period with identical needs. You'll experience distinct phases: active adventure years, meaningful family time, pursuit of long-delayed interests, and wisdom years when you share your experiences with others.
Rather than hoping one investment strategy works for all these different phases, what if you organized your money based on when you'll actually use it and your individual risk tolerance for each time period?
We use The Bucket Plan® philosophy at JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, which traditionally segments money into three time-based buckets:
Now (immediate needs)
This portion covers your immediate needs and planned expenses over the next few years. The specific timeframe depends on your individual situation, but typically includes emergency funds, planned expenses, and peace of mind money that gives you freedom to help family members or handle unexpected opportunities.
Soon (medium-term goals)
This portion funds your active retirement phase based on your individual timeline and risk tolerance. The investments chosen for this bucket focus on preservation while providing growth potential, helping you maintain your lifestyle goals during your most active years.
Later (long-term growth)
This portion is positioned for your longest time horizon and can focus on growth potential since you won't need these assets for many years. Through comprehensive risk assessment, these investments are tailored to your comfort level while working to fund your later years and preserve your ability to leave the legacy you envision.
Optional Fourth Bucket (Healthcare Bucket)
But for comprehensive longevity planning for women, I often recommend adding a fourth bucket specifically focused on later-life healthcare needs and aging in place.
This bucket addresses the reality that women typically need long-term care for longer periods and provides specialized protections that traditional investments may not offer.
How Time-Segmented Planning Solves Women's Challenges
Let's see how this approach addresses the problems we discussed earlier.
- Sequence of returns protection: When markets crash early in retirement, your immediate and active lifestyle money remains protected, while your long-term growth money has decades to recover.
- Healthcare cost planning: Your Later and Healthcare buckets are specifically positioned to handle care expenses without compromising your other lifestyle funding.
- Family responsibility support: Your Now bucket provides flexibility for family needs without disrupting long-term plans.
You can fully embrace opportunities during your healthy, active years while knowing your long-term security grows separately. You're free to say yes to the experiences that matter most because each phase of your life is intentionally supported.
Your Next Steps
Your longer lifespan represents an incredible gift—the chance to experience life phases, relationships, and adventures that previous generations rarely had time to enjoy. But realizing this potential requires more than generic retirement advice.
At JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, we developed The Bucket Plan® specifically to address the challenges facing today's retirees, particularly women navigating longer lifespans and unique financial realities. Our Bucket Plan Certified® advisors have specialized training in this time-segmented approach and understand how to adapt it for women's evolving financial needs.
During a complimentary consultation, we can explore how The Bucket Plan® would work with your specific goals and discuss how to position your resources to support the fulfilling, independent future you're envisioning.
Schedule a Complimentary Consultation.You have the opportunity to create 35+ years of meaningful experiences. Let's make sure your financial foundation supports every phase of the life you want to live.