We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (22,062)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (3)
  • Moore on the Market (485)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (827)
  • Wink's Articles (373)
  • Wink's Inside Story (283)
  • Wink's Press Releases (127)
  • Blog Archives

  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • 10 rules to remember for LGBT retirement planning

    June 27, 2017 by Marlene Y. Satter

    The LGBT community has always faced unique challenges—physical, emotional and financial. And despite the fact that the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down, there are still plenty of legal obstacles for transgender, lesbian and gay couples—some of them surfacing just in time for retirement.

    In honor of Pride Month, we’ve combed resources and explored legal and financial circumstances that the LGBT community should be aware of when planning retirement, so that there are as few unpleasant surprises as possible waiting in the wings.

    Retirement will be tough enough, considering the crisis that awaits those who haven’t saved enough; there’s no need for it to become any tougher just when it’s time to kick back and enjoy all that free time you’ve worked for all your lives.

    According to SAGE, a nonprofit group focusing on improving the lives of older LGBT people, 51 percent of older LGBT people are worried they won’t have enough money as they age, compared with 36 percent of the general population. In addition, more than 40 percent of the older LGBT community fears outliving retirement savings and are “very worried” that they’ll have to work beyond retirement age; just a quarter of non-LGBT people are comparably concerned.

    Those fears are based on fact. An analysis of the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that same-sex couples have median retirement savings of just $66,000; that’s 25 percent less than opposite-sex couples, at $88,000.

    And that’s not all; whether LGBT boomers are married or not, they’re less likely to be able to save for retirement thanks to discrimination in hiring and wages.

    California-based think tank the Williams Institute finds that the wage gap between gay and heterosexual men goes as high as 32 percent. And a 2013 Pew Research study as well as a 2012 Gallup study found that LGBT individuals were more likely to make less money than their straight peers during their careers.

    LGBT workers, according to an AP report, have faced higher unemployment, lower wages and workplace discrimination despite nondiscrimination policies that now exist in many corporations. The American Civil Liberties Union reports that “By the close of 2016, 20 states plus DC banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing, and public accommodations, and an additional three states provided incomplete statewide nondiscrimination protections.”

    But that leaves 27 states where discrimination persists—and where it is still legal to fire someone for their sexual orientation.

    So LGBT seniors older than 65 are more likely to end up in poverty, with the Gallup poll finding that 15.9 percent of gay men older than 65 were near or below the federal poverty line, compared with 9.7 percent of heterosexual men in the same age group. And a 2009 report by the Williams Institute showed lesbian couples older than 65 were twice as likely to live below the poverty line as opposite-sex couples.

    Here are 10 rules you should follow in putting together a retirement plan that will help you and your significant other avoid turbulence on the lazy (or not) river of retirement. Some sources include Nerdwallet, New York Life, the Huffington Post, Forbes and the Associated Press, as well as the Social Security Administration and SAGE.

    Since there’s such a hodgepodge of regulations and laws across the country, as well as gaps in protections even in LGBT-friendly areas, make sure to check for the most up-to-date information as you get closer to retirement. Here are the 10 tips:

    10. Update any wills.

     

    Well, no, strictly speaking wills fall under estate planning, but if you’re half of a couple, you’ll want to be sure that any funds/property you have to leave go to the person you want to have them, or their retirement could be in jeopardy.

    And in some states, laws are not written so that a same-sex spouse or a domestic partner automatically inherits—for instance, a house that’s not in both names. If one of you dies, the other could end up homeless.

     

    9. Make sure beneficiary and other designations are done carefully.

     

    Just because you have a 401(k) at work doesn’t mean that the money will automatically go to your spouse—in fact, many LGBT folks are hesitant to put down a same-sex partner’s name as a designated beneficiary lest it cost them their jobs.

    And companies in states where rights are not protected may choose not to honor such designations.

    For insurance policies, you must also make sure that the relationship is recognized—particularly in the case of such products as long-term care policies bought together. And don’t forget medical powers of attorney, so that you can handle medical problems for your spouse without hassle.

     

    8. Research Social Security benefits.

     

    While same-sex couples are now entitled to Social Security benefits, the actual issue of whether and how their union has been legalized (or not) can affect which benefits a spouse is eligible for.

    A marriage, rather than a domestic partnership or other such union, could affect whether higher benefits are available, or whether family members might be entitled to disability benefits or survivor benefits.

     

    7. Try to save more.

     

    Considering the plight of LGBT people who have not saved enough (or made enough), you might want to explore ways to boost your savings.

     

    6. Try to work longer.

     

    Sticking with a job longer can help you increase your retirement savings; so can taking on a second job or gig work. The longer you can stay on a payroll, or find an alternate source of income, the longer your retirement money will last.

     

    5. Try to find a better job.

     

    If at all possible, look for a job with better pay and benefits—and in a location where those are protected by law. A higher income and better access to a retirement plan, perhaps with more matching funds, will make life easier as you age.

     

    4. Beware of the state or town where you live.

     

    Although many states and communities have passed legislation to protect the LGBT community, others have gone in the opposite direction.

    Choose carefully when it comes to a retirement destination, because an unfriendly milieu could endanger all you’ve worked for all your lives—even if not posing a physical danger, by imposing isolation or condoning casual mistreatment by businesses or employers, or even in other ways that perhaps were not of importance until retirement.

    Sadly, discrimination still exists; if possible, don’t put yourselves in the way of any more of it than necessary.

    Conversely, you and your spouse may be eligible for tax benefits in LGBT-friendly states, but you’ll need to be sure that eligibility extends to both (such as a widow’s/widower’s break on property taxes or a reduction for military service).

     

    3. Choose your retirement neighborhood with care.

     

    To avoid discriminatory treatment in housing that could result in isolation during retirement—a time during which seniors can be at risk for depression and even health problems if they feel cut off from their communities—give serious thought to whether your current home is where you want or need to stay.

    Downsizing to save money and moving to a hostile area could end up costing you more than if you stay put.

     

    2. Thoroughly investigate assisted living/care facilities.

     

    According to an American Bar Association article, “LGBT seniors can be denied admission to nursing homes and assisted living and independent living communities because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

    And even if that changes, discrimination is common in senior housing against LGBT seniors, according to a PBS report.

    So if you or your spouse need to move into a facility that offers assistance with household or health issues that are beyond your control, make sure that the facility is LGBT-friendly. Such places are becoming more common, and the support you’ll find by being in a place where you do not have to hide where you are—or where you might actually fear living—is, as the saying goes, priceless.

     

    1. Build a support system now.

     

    LGBT people often have a far smaller network of support than the population at large, with many cut off from disapproving family members or having smaller families without children—or being alone after widowhood or divorce.

    Well in advance of retirement, look for a congenial group of friends that share common interests in the hobbies and activities you love, and with whom you can act as a community to help each other in various ways.

    Then you’ll have a ready network of people with whom you can trade assistance and moral support when it’s needed—the way family might support the general population.

    Originally Posted at BenefitsPro on June 19, 2017 by Marlene Y. Satter.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency