112 MAY 2019 WOMANSDAYMAGAZINE
Family / RAMP UP YOUR RETIREMENT
SAVINGS ROADBLOCK
YOU WANT TO HELP YOUR KIDS PAY FOR COLLEGE
Parents often want to take on
some or all of their children’s
student loans, and many are
carry ing this debt well into
retirement age. For that reason,
people ages 60 to 69 are the
fastest-growing group carrying
student loans. “Many women
still put their children first
financially, through college and
beyond,” says Linda Rogers,
a certified financial planner
and owner of Planning Within
Reach (planningwithinreach
.com). While you don’t have
to cut the kids off cold turkey,
some deliberate steps can
help get them off your payroll.
TRY THIS Set Clear
Boundaries Early
Sit down with a financial planner
from an organization like the
National Association of Personal
Financial Advisors (napfa.org)
before you sign any student loan
paperwork, Rogers suggests.
Make sure you have an accurate
picture of how taking on more debt
w ill affect your retirement plans,
and don’t feel bad about putting
your own finances first. Instead
of chipping in for tuition and fees,
consider giving your kids a stipend
to help defray the costs or letting
them live with you rent-free while
they work to build up funds.
If you do plan to help w ith
your kids’ tuition, Rogers
recommends saving 50% of public,
in-state school tuition or the
equivalent. The online calculator
savingforcollege.com can help
you budget to reach that goal.
For parents who can’t afford
to set aside that much, Rogers
recommends letting students take
out education loans themselves.
The types of loans available for
students often have more f lexibility
in terms of forgiveness programs,
income-based repayment, and
deferment options. “Parents can
help their children pay those
off down the road, once they’re
in a better place financially,”
Rogers says. “It may not be your
preference, but you need to secure
your retirement first.”
SAVINGS ROADBLOCK
CARING FOR
MOM AND DAD
The National Alliance for
Caregiving and the AARP found
that almost 40% of caregivers
reported high levels of emotional
stress from the demands they were
under and one in five considered
those additional responsibilities a
financial strain. And those numbers
really add up: According to a
MetLife study, the average cost to
each individual female caretaker
is almost $325,000 in lost wages,
pensions, and Social Security.
The AARP found that caretakers
also spent $7,000 out of their own
pockets. The good news is that
preparing for these costs will keep
them from eating into your nest egg.
TRY THIS
Do a Group Chat
Find time to sit down as a family,
including your siblings, to have
a frank conversation about your
parents’ savings, investments,
and debts as well as what they
want their twilight years to
look like—before an illness or
accident forces the issue. To
make that conversation more
productive, consider bringing
in a financial planner as an
impartial moderator. “A third
party can help you navigate what
is often a difficult and emotional
conversation,” says Schlesinger.
Consider creating a spreadsheet
to keep track of your parents’
finances and other details so all
of the important information
will live in the same place. Share
it with your parents and siblings
so everyone is on the same page.
And as Jean Chatzky, AARP’s
personal finance ambassador
and author of Women With
Money, notes, this isn’t a one-
and-done conversation. Revisit
the discussion every six months
to a year or whenever you or
members of your family undergo
major financial changes.
24 million
Number of women
who provide care
for a family member
or friend over 50.
SOURCE: AARP, National Alliance for Caregiving$
23 , 500 ,up from
$
12 , 000The average amount
of student loan debt held
by borrowers 60 and
older in 2015 compared
with 2005.
SOURCE: Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau