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Changing Hawaii

By Diane Yukihiro Chang

Friday, January 14, 2000

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Women must begin
to plan for retirement

A woman usually doesn't like to think about it, let alone talk about it. When she does broach the indelicate subject with her husband, he might be insulted, shrug off the question or humor her by saying, "Don't worry, honey, I have everything under control."

Does he? When it comes to retirement planning, the best advice may be for a woman to tackle it herself -- now!

Unfortunately, not enough do. As a result:

Only 10 percent of females retire with a pension.

48 percent of women (compared to 77 percent of men) are currently invested in a pension plan.

75 percent of the elderly poor are females.

These sobering statistics are worrisome, says Laura Crites, executive director of the Hawaii Women's Business Center, which co-hosted a "Women and Retirement" luncheon at Washington Place on Monday with first lady Vicky Cayetano and corporate sponsor American Savings Investment Services Corp.

"Women are often in denial," Crites told the crowd of business leaders in attendance, most of whom happened to be wearing skirts.

"The 'deal' was that women were supposed to be taken care of in their old age in exchange for taking care of everyone and everything else. She depended on her husband, kids, the company and even government."

That was then. This is now: prevalent divorce, premature deaths of spouses, grown children struggling to make it on their own, companies slashing retirement benefits, and even good ol' Social Security looking mighty iffy.

A woman needs to break out of her comfort zone. She must make the effort:

To listen to her "inner voice," the one that every so often wonders, "Will I have enough money to take care of myself when I'm older or alone?"

To risk conflict with her mate, who may not want to discuss such a touchy topic.

To realize that, while she may not feel comfortable with 1) finances, 2) setting up a retirement plan or 3) consulting a financial expert, she should plan for the future. Conversely, financial managers and planners must learn to be more patient with women. Often they're dipping their toes into these chilly waters for the first time.

The HWBC, for one, is offering two-part retirement planning workshops from 5-7 p.m. on Feb. 3 and 10, and March 2 and 9.

The cost is $10 per series, with instructors including Ruth Sakai of Northwestern Mutual, Heather Pelant of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Margery Ziffrin of Lincoln National Life.

Enlightened employers who want to host a financial management workshop for their own workers can contact the HWBC at 522-8136 (fax 522-8135).

Still not convinced, ladies? Then mull this workshop description in the HWBC's own words:

"Too many women either ignore their responsibility for their own retirement planning, pour their retirement savings into their business or family needs, or assume that their companies or marriages will provide for their retirement.

"All of these are potentially fatal mistakes which could land them in poverty in their senior years.

"These workshops will guide you to set aside money for retirement and invest it in ways to provide financial security when you most need it."

That could be sooner than you think.

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Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
dchang@starbulletin.com, or by fax at 523-7863.