By Anne McCabe & Atricia Roberts
When you’re planning for retirement on your own, every decision carries a little more weight. There isn’t a second income or another person’s retirement savings to fall back on, which makes questions like when to retire, when to claim Social Security, and how much you’ll need especially important.
Many of the women we work with are planning for retirement on their own, whether by choice or after a divorce or the loss of a spouse. Here’s how we approach retirement planning for single women and the questions we recommend answering before deciding when to retire.
What Makes Retirement Different When You're Single?
A couple's retirement comes with backups: two Social Security records instead of one, housing and healthcare costs split between two people, and a second person who can step in if one of you gets sick. On your own, each of those becomes a decision you make in advance. Solo retirement must be built on purpose.
All of them can be built, and the five to ten years before you stop working give you the most room to work with. Retirement can last 30 or 40 years, so those early choices carry weight for a long time.
How Much Does a Single Woman Need to Retire?
There isn't one number, and anyone offering you one without seeing your situation is guessing. What we build instead is a projection, including your real spending, every income source you'll have, reasonable assumptions about inflation and market returns, and a test of how the plan holds up if the first few years are rough.
The spending side deserves extra honesty when you're the only one paying. Housing, utilities, and a car cost close to the same whether one person uses them or two, and travel is often priced for two. A realistic number now is easier to live with than an optimistic one you have to revise later.
How Do You Turn Savings Into Income You Can Count On?
For most of your career, income likely came from one paycheck. In retirement it comes from several places at once, including Social Security, possibly a pension, your retirement accounts, and your other investments. Arranging those into something steady is most of the work.
A few pieces we look at closely for single women:
- The order you draw from accounts, since the sequence affects your taxes for years afterward.
- Required withdrawals once they begin, and what they do to your tax picture.
- Whether a pension makes more sense as monthly income or a lump sum when there's no spouse to provide for afterward.
- How much of your income stays steady and how much moves with the market, and whether that mix sits well with you.
When Should a Single Woman Claim Social Security?
Waiting to claim Social Security generally means a larger monthly benefit, while claiming earlier means receiving a smaller benefit for more years. The right timing depends on your health, whether you’re still working, and what other income you’ll have in retirement. We look at those factors alongside your numbers rather than relying on a general rule.
Divorced and widowed women may also have options they aren’t aware of. If you were married for at least 10 years and are currently unmarried, you may be eligible for benefits based on a former spouse’s record without reducing their benefit. If your spouse has died, you may have choices around when to claim a survivor benefit versus your own Social Security benefit. It’s a good idea to review these options before you decide when to claim.
Who Helps if You Need Care?
For single women, planning for future care involves two important questions: how you’ll pay for it and who you’ll trust to help if you can no longer manage things on your own. That may mean setting aside savings or considering long-term care insurance, as well as choosing who will hold your financial and medical powers of attorney.
Without a spouse automatically filling those roles, you get to decide who is best suited for each responsibility. That may not always be the person you’re closest to, which is why we help you think through those decisions and coordinate with your attorney so your wishes are clearly documented.
At Curo, you work with a team rather than one advisor, so several people understand your situation and can help when you need them. Women who have been through a divorce or the loss of a partner often tell us that continuity is part of what brought them to us.
Let's Talk About Retirement Planning for Single Women
Retirement planning for single women works best when it starts early enough to leave you options. We're women helping women in Reston, Rockville, Washington, D.C., and across the country get to a place of calm and control with their money. Would you like someone to look at your numbers alongside you? To get in touch, call (301) 652-9677 or email info@curoprivatewealth.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a single woman need to retire?
There isn't a single figure that fits everyone. The number depends on what you spend, what income you'll have, and how long your retirement may last. We build a projection from your actual expenses, test it against a rough start, then revisit it as life changes. Our article on calculating your enough number walks through how we get there.
What does retirement look like for single women?
Financially, it looks like one income stream covering everything a couple would otherwise split, plus the backups a spouse would have provided. Day to day, many of the women we work with describe more freedom than they expected, including travel, a second act, and time with the people they choose. Our piece on women and retirement covers the challenges women encounter along the way.
Is it harder to retire alone?
It's different rather than harder. The support a couple has automatically has to be arranged on purpose, which is why we suggest starting earlier. Women who arrive at a solo retirement after losing a spouse have an extra layer to work through, and our article on the financial steps after losing a spouse covers those first months.