This Mother’s Day, as I’ve done for many years, I’ve been reflecting on my own mom and how she was a key motivator behind why I’m passionate about tackling the retirement challenge. My mother was a high school math teacher, and she and my father worked hard to build a stable life for our family—which was no easy feat with five kids to raise and care for. Putting a portion of their paychecks away for retirement definitely felt like an extra squeeze on top of an already tight budget, especially when living and family-related expenses were always top priority.
So when I began working at BlackRock, my mother started a new tradition. Like clockwork, every year my mom would send me her pension statement with the same note: “Anne, take good care of us teachers!” This note served as my annual reminder and motivation for why I come to work every day—to help hardworking people retire the way they want to, with dignity and with confidence.
Today, I have a new appreciation for my mom’s notes. As a baby boomer, my retirement is closer on the horizon than it once was, and my generation faces some tough questions: Am I saving enough? Am I investing appropriately? How can I be sure that I’ll make the most of what I’m able to put away? So in the spirit of taking good care of baby boomers—and especially baby boomer moms—here are some retirement saving tips:
Empower yourself with knowledge
Our 2017 DC Pulse survey found that 23% of people aren’t sure if they’re on-track to retire the way they would like to. Sound like you? To reduce that uncertainty, use an income calculator to see how your current lump sum in savings will translate into income streams during your retirement years. The sooner you do so, the better—knowing whether or not you’re on-track today empowers you with the knowledge you need to make decisions on how you should adjust your saving or investment habits to reach your goals. And the good news is, if you’re not where you want to be yet, there’s still time to catch up.
