Women are over-represented in the low-wage work-force, with little access to workplace benefits or financial wellness programs. These low- to moderate-income women often work multiple jobs with little to no savings to show for it, and are likely to live in poverty in old age. Encouragingly, successful model programs using financial incentives help these women better their finances. Highlighted programs arereplicable for advisors as trusted messengers to provide financial knowledge designed to overcome the savings challenges by collaborating with local nonprofit organizations and financial institutions. In turn, the underserved women acquire actionable financial information and accounts to accumulate savings.
Author: Cindy Hounsell, JD, is the president and founder of the Washington D.C.-based Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), a nonprofit founded in 1996 to improve opportunities for women to secure retirement income and to educate the public about the inequities that disadvantage women in retirement. As director of the National Resource Center on Women and Retirement (NRCWR), which WISER operates in partnership with the U.S. Administration on Aging, she provides technical assistance to national organizations and trains leaders and grassroots advocates across the country. Cindy has been widely quoted in the media and has authored many articles, papers, and booklets on women’s retirement issues. She has testified before Congress and served as a delegate at White House summits and conferences. In 2018, she received the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s lifetime achievement award. In 2015, PBS-Next Avenue named her a 2015 Influencer in Aging. She was one of Women’s eNews’ 21 Leaders for the 21st Century and Money magazine’s 40 Money Heroes. Cindy received a JD from City University of New York School of Law, and was a recipient of the Georgetown University Women’s Law & Public Policy Fellowship in 1989.
Author: Ellen Welty is a freelance writer and editor who has written and collaborated on pieces about women’s financial issues for a range of publications. Ellen received a BA Degree from Dartmouth College.
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