FEE-ONLY RETIREMENT PLANNING FOR WOMEN

There is no single best age, but a few dates are fixed by law and should anchor the decision: penalty-free retirement account withdrawals at 59½, Medicare at 65, full Social Security retirement age at 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, and required minimum distributions at 73 or 75 depending on birth year. The right retirement date is the one your income plan can carry across those milestones, including the years before Medicare when you buy your own health coverage.

Three things change the math. Women live longer on average, so the same savings must last more years. In a marriage, the survivor keeps only the larger Social Security check and usually files taxes as a single person, which raises the tax bill on the same income. And if you are single, there is no second income, no second check, and no one to split a care decision with, so the plan has to carry itself. Retirement planning for women prices all three in rather than running a generic projection. Our complete guide walks through each one.

The number depends on what you spend, what Social Security and any pension will cover, and how your savings are taxed when you draw on them. Two women with the same total can have very different outcomes if one holds everything pre-tax and the other can draw from taxable, Roth, and pre-tax accounts. We build the number from your spending, not a rule of thumb, and stress-test it against a long life. See the math on retiring with $2 million.

For a single woman, waiting until 70 usually pays because the larger check is insurance against a long life. For a married couple, the higher earner’s check is the one that should wait, since it becomes the survivor’s income. Health, the cost of bridging the gap years from savings, and widow’s benefit options can change the answer, so we model the claiming date alongside taxes and Roth conversions rather than on its own. Which spouse should delay explains the survivor rule.

Align is fee-only, so you pay us directly and no one else pays us. Wealth management, which includes your retirement income plan and investment management, is billed as a percentage of the assets we manage or advise on. A planning-only engagement is a fixed fee set by the complexity of your situation. We walk through exactly how we are paid on the first call, and there are no commissions anywhere in the relationship.

We are based in Hoboken, New Jersey, and registered as an investment adviser in New Jersey. Most of our work happens virtually. If you live outside New Jersey, ask on the call and we will tell you plainly whether we are able to work together.