Jan Cullinane - The Single Womans Guide to Retirement

Contents

Cover Design: Lesley Q. Palmer

Cover Illustration: Sarah Wilkins

Copyright 2012 by Jan Cullinane. AARP is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data :

Cullinane, Jan, author.

The single womans guide to retirement / Jan Cullinane.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-22950-7 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-28498-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-28401-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-28300-4 (ebk)

1. Single womenRetirementUnited States. 2. WomenRetirementUnited States. 3. RetirementUnited StatesPlanning. 4. Retirement incomeUnited StatesPlanning. I. Title.

HQ1063.2.U6C853 2012

306.3808652dc23

2012020176

Preface

Why did I decide to write a book about single women and retirement? My previous book, The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life , was primarily targeted to couples. Over the past decade, as I gave many talks about retirement, I noticed a curious phenomenon. Women would routinely come up after a presentation and say, Ive never married. All the ads for places to live are targeted to couples. Where should I move? or My ex handled the money. Now Im on my ownhelp! or I may be getting divorced. What should I do to protect myself? or I was a stay-at-home mom and havent worked in 30 years. How do I get back into the workplace? or Im widowed, in my late 50s, and Id like to date again. What about me?

These are examples from an important and growing demographic: single women, whether theyre thinking about retirement or already retired, women ranging in age from their 40s to decades beyond.

Even if youre happily married or have a significant other now, theres an 80 to 90 percent chance youll be making all decisions, financial and otherwise, at some point. Retirement is an odyssey that can be exciting and liberating, scary and stressful, and often it is a cauldron of change and conflicting emotions.

Single women are the second-largest category of home-buyers; women surpass men in college graduation rates and are slowly catching up to men in salaries. But, we know all is not rosy. Single women are also the most likely to end up in poverty, have concerns about outliving their money, and worry about taking care of themselvesand their aging parentsas they age.

So, whats in this book? It addresses dating, divorce, death of a spouse, relocation, health, volunteering, working, boomerang children, caregiving, and money. It contains worksheets, the latest research about mature single women, contributions from other experts, references, and lots of anecdotes, examples, and suggestions from single women I know or have met personally or professionally, including some virtual acquaintances. Helpful hints, fun facts, and tantalizing tidbits are sprinkled throughout as well. The book is designed to be a guide for single women about all aspects of retirement and to provide a blueprint for a satisfying and successful retirement. Its also specific. If a place to relocate is recommended, there are specific communities referenced along with their Web sites, not just a city or state. If youre looking to find a single stateroom on a cruise ship, specific cruise ships are listed. Looking for legitimate work-at-home possibilities? Youll see companies, requirements, and contact info. I guess its my science background, but I happen to like details as well as stories.

I mentioned that anecdotes from single women are woven throughout the book. A few examples: Joanne C. left her prestigious career to care for her ill parents; Marie V. is widowed and found a job homeshoring (working from home); Ann F. started her own business; Louise O. picked up stakes in the United States and moved to Boquete, Panama; Bonnie W. loves to travel with like-minded women and found an easy way to do so; Emily is a lesbian and found the perfect place to live; Jacque B. wanted a home of her own combined with the support of a cohousing communityand found it; Rebecca V. has two boomerang children and is struggling to save for retirement; Mary Pat R. pushes her comfort zone by volunteering in less-developed countries; Andrea C. was scammed through a dating site; and Patti K. met her soon-to-be husband through one. (To protect their privacy, women who contributed stories are mostly identified by their first or middle name and last initial, although a few requested that only their first name be used.)

What is the common thread among these women? They represent the 25 million single (divorced, widowed, never-married) women over the age of 45 in the United States. Real women sharing real challenges, solutions, exhilaration, fears, and ideas as they approach or begin this journey we call retirement. Jonathon Brown, a social psychologist at the University of Washington, shares this analogy when it comes to grappling with lifes twists and turns: