Retirement steps gay boomers must take now
We’re frequently asked, “How can I retire yesterday?” Many gay boomers aren’t ready to retire. What can they do? We share 7 steps gay boomers must take now – like today.
Financial advisor David Rae on retirement for gay boomers
We bring back one of our favorite CFPs, David Rae of FinancialPlannerLA.com, to finish our Queer Money® series on generational retirement planning. You can find our show on Millennials here and GenXers here. Today’s focus is on gay boomers and all queer people in the boomer age group.
Boomers started retiring en masse in 2011. We now have 10 years of analysis to help this demographic make financial planning decisions.
Gay boomers and retirement on Queer Money®:
Who are gay boomers?
Rae shares common trends he sees among his queer clients, most evidently bifurcated between “the haves” and “the have nots”. Prudential published its LGBT Financial Experience 2016-2017 survey, which says that only 11% of queer individuals feel confident that they will have enough money to last them through retirement. That means that 89% of our community lives with a sense of financial insecurity.
Our conversation highlighted the unique opportunities the queer community now has and the general success of coupled people, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, have relative to single people. Rae shares a Treasury Department study that showed single gay men tend to earn less money than their single straight counterparts tend to earn and married gay men tend to earn more money than their straight counterparts tend to earn.
Most queer couples don’t have children and this poses additional problems for the queer community. This affects long-term care and inheritance decisions. Many queer boomers today have been separated from their families because they were shunned. Add to this concern that most states still don’t have protections for queer people in institutions such as retirement centers and nursing homes.
What are the options for gay boomers?
Rae gives a point-by-point guide for gay boomers and all queer people entering retirement or in retirement to help make their money outlive them. There are strategies both sets of boomers can implement to increase financial security.
Are you financially ready to retire?
When we recorded this original Queer Money® podcast episode, only 11% of LGBT folks felt like they were saving enough to last in retirement. It’s not that uncommon for folks to feel this way. The Insured Retirement Institute found in 2019 that 45% of Baby Boomers have nothing saved, while the median amount saved is just over $58,000. According to Vanguard, the average retirement balance for folks 55 to 64 is $171,000.
The old say goes, “Those that fail to plan are planning to fail.”
Without a retirement plan, it’s not going to be a happy Miami, Miami, Miami; you’ve got style, Golden Girls retirement. Although 3 of the 4 did have jobs in their mid-to-late 50s to prepare.
In this episode of Queer Money®, we bring back David Rae of Financial Planner LA to talk about steps that Baby Boomers can take to prepare for retirement. Although the episode was recorded 5 years ago and millions of more Baby Boomers have retired, there are plenty of tips that folks can still use today if you haven’t retired.
How can gay boomers prepare for last-minute retirement? Here are 7 steps:
- Calculate your retirement number, keep in mind that LGBTQ folks need to save more
- Do a 5-year assessment to see what you need to do over the next 5 years
- Look up how much SS you will get at ssa.gov/myaccount
- Determine if you will or need to continue working
- Try to reduce expenses now to about 75% of your take-home pay, and bank the rest
- The last-minute push to make more/save more (gig economy)
- Talk to a financial advisor
Watch as we dive deeper into retirement for gay boomers 5+ years since this episode:
How can you get more Queer Money® podcasts?
✅ Subscribe to the Queer Money® podcast here @ QueerMoneyPodcast
✅ Hear the original Queer Money® episode @Boomer Retirement: Will You Be Ready?
✅ Join the conversation in the Queer Money Facebook Group @ QueerMoney
✅ Email us with questions @ [email protected]
We’re David and John Auten-Schneider, the Debt Free Guys (www.debtfreeguys.com) and the Queer Money® podcast hosts. We help queer people (and allies) live fabulously not fabulously broke by helping them 1) pay off credit card debt, 2) become part- or full-time entrepreneurs and 3) save and invest for retirement.