"Professional and executive women choose careers not just for the money - and those other reasons don't disappear at retirement, when the need for financial compensation goes away." ~ Dolly Garlo
Key West, FL (PRWEB) July 21, 2014
Forbes magazine online recently published a smart article by contributor Nancy Anderson outlining five brilliant reasons women may want to work with a female financial adviser. She points out that even affluent women include continuing to work as part of their retirement plan - to avoid the prospect of living in retirement without a paycheck.
"Professional and executive women choose careers not just for the financial compensation," says Dolly Garlo, President of Thrive!! Coaching Consulting & Training and a business, life and legacy coach for women. "A sense of accomplishment, improving the status of their own lives in other ways, and providing an example to other women of what's possible, among others, are also important reasons they pursue a career – and those reasons don't disappear when the need for financial remuneration goes away."
Garlo offers the following tips on important aspects to consider about working in retirement - both for professional women and the financial advisers who serve them:
~ For some people, financial compensation is the only perceived benefit of working, yet there are numerous others. Key to that is Confucius' admonition to "choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Indeed, choosing a career or business path allows the realization of a personal sense of purpose, status, connection and socialization, as well as attributes of structure and environment.
~ Financial compensation includes the traditional tangible rewards of salary, benefits, options and partnerships. At retirement, successful working women are best served by also understanding issues of exit-planning or valuation and sale of a business interest. Exploring alternatives for replacing health benefits or managing employer-sponsored retirement plans are also key issues.
~ More than ever, women also need to understand aspects of estate planning, charitable giving or pursuit of philanthropic activities and related inter-generational concerns. Depending on their level of wealth or type of assets, marital status and other family issues, these considerations can lead to a whole new way of working and community involvement.
~ Utility is a less considered but significantly important benefit of working. Work provides a sense of purpose through helping others or serving their needs in some way. Financial independence may allow for new lifestyle choices, but leaving a career creates issues of professional identity to consider: “who am I if I am no longer a ________” [fill in the professional title].
~ Working also provides a sense of status, not in an egotistical sense, but in a societal one. It creates a sense of belonging – in the workplace and in the community. At a certain level, the work we do becomes who we are, leading to a need for personal reinvention as part of retirement planning.
~ Similarly, socialization is a most significant benefit often seriously missed when leaving a traditional work setting. People who leave their work without alternatives often feel isolated and alone. Meaningful work and connection support self-esteem.
~ Time management may not be seen as a work benefit, rather as a requirement of working. But working provides a structure to weekly, monthly and even seasonal activities as it spills over into the rest of life. The environment of the work setting itself is another structural element that helps provide a sense of familiarity and order.
Retirement planning and wealth management fail to take considerations like these into account when the focus is only on finances and investment vehicles. Some form of productive, constructive and contributory activities will continue to be especially important to women, whether or not financial compensation is a factor, since they worked so hard and often sacrificed much by taking on a career. Failing to focus on these issues may prevent their continued growth in new ways of living and serving that retirement and financial independence allow.
Financial advisers who work with women can help them take these factors into account – either by addressing them directly or by introducing clients to other professionals who can complement the financial aspects of planning.
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Dolly M. Garlo is founder and president of Thrive!! Coaching, Consulting & Training. Her mission is to help accomplished women build greater personal fulfillment, while they create a better world. A registered nurse, attorney and business owner, now working as a board certified coach focused on retirement transition, financial mastery, conscious entrepreneurship, life and legacy design, she has impacted thousands of individuals and organizations in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, all over the U.S. She knows this territory well. Changing course many times, she’s created an enjoyable life and phenomenal marriage, work she is passionate about, and a legacy she is proud to live now knowing it will benefit generations to come. She is the author of the forthcoming book: "Successful Women in the Age of Mastery: Creating the Best for the Rest of Your Life ... and for Generations to Come."