Retirement Planning for Women

Retirement planning for women who want to stop wondering and start living.

If you're approaching retirement — or already there — and want a planner who understands what women are actually navigating, you're in the right place.

Let's see if we're a fit

The questions that matter

If you've been asking yourself any of these...

"Will I actually have enough — and how would I even know if I didn't?"

"When should I claim Social Security? And what if I get it wrong?"

"What happens to my money if something happens to my husband — or to me?"

"How do I turn what I've saved into a paycheck I can count on?"

"Am I paying more in taxes than I have to?"

"What do I do about health insurance before Medicare kicks in?"

These are the questions I help women answer. Not with a generic plan, but with a conversation — and then a strategy built around your actual life.

What we cover

What we work on together

Retirement planning isn't one thing — it's a set of interconnected decisions that need to work together. Here's what that looks like in practice.

Retirement Income

Creating a reliable monthly paycheck
Withdrawal sequencing and order
Safe spending rates
Pension decisions
Annuities — when they make sense

Social Security

Tax Planning

Roth conversions and timing
Required minimum distributions (RMDs)
Managing IRMAA surcharges
Tax bracket management
Qualified charitable distributions

Healthcare

Estate Planning

Beneficiary designations
Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney
Inherited IRAs and SECURE Act rules
Gifting strategies
Coordinating with your estate attorney

Investment Strategy

Portfolio simplification
Sequence of returns risk
Risk tolerance in retirement
Rebalancing and maintenance
Keeping costs low

Why it matters

Retirement looks different for women

The standard retirement planning playbook was written with someone else in mind. Women face a distinct set of realities — and the plan needs to account for them.

A longer retirement needs a different kind of plan

A 65-year-old woman should plan for 25–30 years in retirement, not 20. That changes how much you can safely spend, how your portfolio needs to be positioned, and what "conservative" actually means over that time horizon.

Career gaps leave a mark on Social Security

Time out of the workforce — for caregiving, family, or other reasons — permanently reduces your Social Security benefit. There are strategies to minimize the impact, but only if you know to look for them before you claim.

Widowhood usually comes with a financial reset

Most women will manage their finances alone at some point. Planning for this before it happens — not after — makes an enormous difference. Survivor benefits, account titling, income changes: there's a lot to get right in advance.

Divorce changes the entire retirement picture

QDROs, ex-spouse Social Security rules, survivor benefits, asset division — there's a specific playbook for women navigating divorce and retirement at the same time. It matters which accounts you keep and which you don't.

From the archive

Keep reading

More than 450 articles on retirement planning, investing, and building a life worth living. Here are a few to start with.

Women & Retirement

Retirement Planning for Women: A 101 Guide

A comprehensive introduction to the key decisions, timelines, and strategies that matter most for women approaching retirement.

Women & Retirement

3 Biggest Retirement Threats for Women

Longevity, caregiving costs, and supporting adult children. Why each one matters — and what to do about it.

Social Security

Social Security Overview for Women

When to claim, how survivor and spousal benefits work, and the key differences women need to understand before making this decision.

Healthcare

Health Insurance Between Retirement and Medicare

The coverage gap between leaving work and turning 65 is one of the most expensive problems to solve. Here's how to approach it.

Retirement Income

Is Your Retirement Income Plan Resilient?

The question isn't just whether you have enough — it's whether your plan can hold up under the scenarios that actually happen.

You've spent a lifetime building this. Let's make sure you get to enjoy it.

The first step is a simple conversation — no pressure, no obligation. Just a chance to see if this feels like the right fit.

Let's see if we're a fit

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