Women who act as a traditional caregiver and are the primary breadwinner in their families are more likely to face surprise life events, according to a panelist of women financial experts.
Advisors can help clients such as they by keeping up with lifestyle trends, they added.
“Women may be surprised to discover as they age that the caregiver role includes not only children but also their parents and spouses,” said Jenine Garrelick, associate national sales manager with MFS Fund Distributors in Boston.
Garrelick was among a group of four women who lectured at the Hearst Tower in Manhattan on Wednesday in a program entitled, "Time as an Asset."
“Pushing off getting married and pursuing education and careers can lead to challenges in family planning for which they did not account,” Garrelick told Financial Advisor magazine.
Given that women's average life expectancy is longer than men's, women can be stuck caring for themselves later in life, which is why Garrelick advises financial advisors to do a better job of understanding the issues surrounding surprise life events, such as job loss, divorce, childcare and eldercare.
“Advisors need to understand what happens when there is divorce and how that dissolution can impact a financial product owned jointly as well as the rules around how Social Security assets get divvied up if the marriage has lasted for some time,” said Garrelick who manages a sales team that markets mutual funds to financial advisors.
Garrelick was joined by Luma Wealth Advisors founder Heather Ettinger, Cammack Retirement Group Director Emily Wrightson and Jane Francisco, editorial director with Hearst Lifestyle Group, in the hour-long discussion.
“I recommend investing in a [health savings account] when an employer offers it,” Ettinger told an audience of about 150 women. “Those monies, if they are saved, compound over time and cover more medical expenses in retirement.”
A health savings account (HSA) grows tax deferred and doesn't take away from what’s being saved in a retirement account.