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Women face higher hurdles for how much income they will need in retirement, and they lack confidence they can clear them, according to a new Goldman Sachs report.
Here’s why a number of other financial priorities can get in the way.

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Coming up with enough money for retirement is a challenge for all workers.
Women are more likely, at 50%, to say they’re behind, versus 35% of men, a new report from Goldman Sachs found.

What’s more, 24% said they are “very behind schedule,” compared with 14% of men.
Nearly half of women — 47% — said they are on track or ahead of schedule when it comes to their retirement savings. They still fell short of a majority of men — 64% — who said the same.
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The findings in the Goldman Sachs report come as women face higher hurdles for the amount they will need to save for retirement. On average, American women live three years longer than men, according to the research.
Women also are more likely, at 61%, than men, at 50%, to retire earlier than they planned, the report found. The top reasons women retired earlier were health, family care needs or job loss.

For those who are retired, more than half of women — 58% — receive half or less than half of their pre-retirement income, compared with 44% of men.
Meanwhile, just 20% of women receive 70% of their pre-retirement income, the amount some experts say retirees need in order to maintain their standard of living. In comparison, 30% of retired men have income that reaches that level.

“Women are more behind in retirement readiness than men,” said Michael Moran, senior pension strategist at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
“There’s a number of competing financial priorities that all individuals have to face, but women in particular have to face,” he said.

Why women face unique challenges

One key reason why women’s retirement savings come up short is they are more likely to take time out of the workforce to care for children or aging relatives.
Women tend to work nine years less than men, which can reduce their retirement savings by 35%, according to Moran. This may also have an adverse effect on the amount of Social Security benefits they receive.
Women also face a persistent wage gap. They earned just 82 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Men may also earn more on the investments in their retirement accounts because they are deferring from larger salaries. That is even though women tend to have better savings habits, including higher participation in voluntary enrollment 401(k) plans, according to a recent Vanguard report.
More immediate financial worries may also get in the way. Amid high inflation this year, 45% of women decreased their overall spending, compared with 37% of men, Goldman Sachs found. Women were also more likely to withdraw from their emergency savings, with 24% doing so, compared with 17% of men.

Another factor that may affect women’s retirement preparedness is whether they choose to marry, other research has found.
Recent research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found women who have spent most of their lives married tend to fare worse than never-married women. The reason is largely due to the declining wealth of their spouses. Because never-married women’s wealth has mostly stayed stable, their wealth has increased relative to their mostly married counterparts, according to the report.
An unexpected divorce or death of a spouse can also upend their financial plans in retirement.
One way all women may improve their retirement incomes is by seeking professional advice, which can be personalized to their situation, according to Candice Tse, global head of strategic advisory solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. It may also help reassure their fears, she said.
“A lot of women fear that they have so much riding on their shoulders,” Tse said. “They fear making a mistake. They’re anxious about their finances and they’re less confident.”

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The average credit score sits at an all-time high, but has leveled off after improving year over year.
Higher credit scores pave the way to lower rates, potentially saving thousands of dollars in interest charges.
This map shows where Americans have the highest, and lowest, credit scores.

The national average credit score sits at an all-time high of 716, unchanged from a year ago, according to a report from FICO, developer of one of the scores most widely used by lenders.
However, this marks the first time since the Great Recession that scores did not improve year over year, the report found. That’s in part due to a small uptick in missed payments, elevated consumer debt levels and an increase in the number of consumers opening new credit cards or new lines of credit.

“These moderate changes toward more risky behaviors have contributed to the leveling off of higher average FICO Scores,” according to the report.
FICO scores range from 300 to 850. A good score generally is above 670, a very good score is over 740 and anything above 800 is considered exceptional.

Average nationwide credit scores bottomed out at 686 during the housing crisis more than a decade ago, when there was a sharp increase in foreclosures. They steadily ticked higher until the pandemic, when government stimulus programs and a spike in household saving helped scores jump to a historical high.

Where to find the highest, and lowest, credit scores

When the data is broken down by state, residents of Minnesota have the highest average credit score nationwide, at 724, followed by New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, according to a separate report by WalletHub based on TransUnion data.
On average, residents in these states are less likely to be opening new credit, have fewer missed payments and a lower ratio of debt to total credit, FICO also found.

With an average credit score of 662, Mississippi residents had the lowest ranking across the country, along with Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas.

Why your credit score is important

Generally speaking, the higher your credit score, the better off you are when it comes to getting a loan. You’re more likely to be approved, and if you’re approved you can qualify for a lower rate, potentially saving thousands of dollars in interest charges, according to FICO.
An average score of 716 by FICO measurements means most lenders will consider your creditworthiness “good” and are more likely to extend lower rates.

“Every 20 points or so can make a really big difference,” especially with mortgage rates, said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate and CreditCards.com.
For example, borrowers with a credit score over 760 could lock in a 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 5.75%, but it jumps to 7.3% for credit scores of 640 or below. On a $300,000 loan, paying that higher rate adds up to an extra $113,000 over the lifetime of the loan, according to data from FICO.
“Something similar plays out on a smaller scale with car loans,” Rossman said. “It’s at least a few hundred dollars a month and potentially more than $100,000 over the long haul.”
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The best way to increase your credit score comes down to paying your bills on time or reducing your credit card balance, Rossman said. 
Rossman advises borrowers to keep revolving debt below 30% of their available credit to limit the effect that high balances can have. Asking for a higher credit limit or making an extra payment in the middle of the billing cycle can help.
“A lot of this is more of a marathon than a sprint,” he said.
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Many older employees and retirees regret not planning or saving for retirement early enough in their working lives.
Getting started with a retirement plan in your 20s can help you avoid that regret, stay on track and feel more confident.
Experts advise starting within your means, grabbing any free money available and asking for help from professionals.

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If you’re just out of college, you may be wondering when the right time is to get started with a retirement savings plan. The answer is now, experts say. 
To that point, 55% of Americans already working think they are behind on saving for retirement, according to a recent Bankrate survey. That includes 71% of baby boomers and 65% of Gen Xers. But even some younger workers are concerned: Almost one-third, 30%, of Gen Z think they are behind.

Plus, the most common regret among older employees and retirees is that they didn’t start planning or saving for retirement early enough.
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Getting started with a retirement plan in your 20s can help you avoid that regret, stay on track and feel more confident.
“Making this investment is something that will reward you for your entire life,” said Douglas Boneparth, a certified financial planner and the president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York. He is also a member of the CNBC Advisor Council.
“Not only will it reward you, it’s necessary to successfully navigate your life,” he said. “The more work you can put in today to create this foundation, the easier things will be when it becomes more complex down the road.”

Here are three tips to keep in mind.

1. Start within your means

Inflation may make it feel more difficult to get started. Amid higher prices, 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent LendingClub report.
Despite those challenges, young adults can make a retirement savings plan that fits within their lifestyles, Boneparth said. Even starting with a small amount can make a difference over time due to the power of compound interest. And it gives you a foothold to scale up your contributions over time.
Lazetta Braxton, a CFP and the co-CEO at virtual planning firm 2050 Wealth Partners, suggests trying to align your expenses with something called the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy. That calls for you to spend no more than half of your income on essential expenses, and allocate 30% for discretionary expenses and 20% to “pay yourself” with saving and investing. 

2. Leverage free money

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If you work for a company that offers a 401(k) plan or another type of retirement plan, make one of your first goals contributing enough to that plan to receive the full employer match. That’s free money.
“At least contribute to the amount that your employer will match,” said Braxton, who is also a member of the CNBC Advisor Council.

3. Turn to a financial advisor for help

Talking to a financial advisor can help you prioritize your goals and make a plan. (Advisors aren’t just for the wealthy: Some charge by the hour or on a project basis.)
“Make sure that you’re aligned with people who keep your best interests first,” Braxton said. That means looking for an advisor who holds the CFP designation or is otherwise required to act as a fiduciary.
Beyond that, it’s smart to look for someone you trust and who understands your goals.

“A good financial planner is one who is not just looking at your investments, but all aspects of your life,” Braxton said.
“You want someone who’s going to walk with you, help educate you, and help you with life decisions,” she said. “Because you’re just starting your investment journey in your 20s and it’s so key to have someone you can trust.”

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The CEOs of some of the biggest American companies believe the economy may be heading for a recession.
There’s still hope for investors, financial advisors say.

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‘It’s possible that the market can rally’

There’s a difference between what CEOs forecast for the economy and how the market will perform, Karen Firestone, chairman and CEO of Aureus Asset Management, said Tuesday during the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit.
That’s because investors try to get ahead of what’s coming and price those expectations into stocks, Firestone said.
“The market always anticipates slowdowns and recoveries,” she said, adding that people inevitably resume their buying when they believe stocks are sufficiently discounted.

She reminded investors that the market bottomed in March 23, 2020 “after it had fallen 34% and we hadn’t even locked down for more than a week. That was the beginning of Covid, but it was the beginning of a bull market.”

“And so yes,” she said, “I think it’s possible that the market can rally.”

‘I think we need to…be very, very granular’

Another problem with sweeping generalizations and predictions for stocks is that “everything in this market right now is moving asynchronously,” said Jenny Harrington, CEO and portfolio manager at Gilman Hill Asset Management, in New Canaan, Connecticut.
Although there’s been a slowdown in the housing market, Harrington pointed out, airline and hotel companies are seeing an uptick in profits.
“I think we need to right now be very, very granular,” she said.
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For her clients, Firestone is on the lookout for discounts in the market.
‘There are opportunities in sectors and in stocks that have had their own internal recession because of what’s happened with the pandemic, or coming out of it,” Firestone said. For example, stocks in the advertising sector are trading at lower prices than usual.
“We can say, ‘At these prices, there’s something to look forward to,'” she said.

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As financial content on social media platforms grows, it may be difficult to separate bona fide expertise from get-rich-quick schemes.
Experts say there are warning signs to watch for before you buy into a strategy touted online.

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Resist the urge to go all in on trends

In 2021, a video on cryptocurrencies would have received a ton of views on apps, Yang noted. Today, cryptocurrency videos are more niche.

“The public attention isn’t really there anymore, especially after the FTX fallout,” Yang said.
But crypto is an example of the very loud financial trends that tend to take over people’s attention spans on social media, said Brian Barnes, founder and CEO of financial services company M1.
For investors, it’s important to remember those trends can fade, and you can get burned.

While the stock market is valued at close to $50 trillion, crypto’s market cap is now down to $800 billion, after peaking at around $3 trillion.
Compared to nutrition, crypto is more like sugary snacks while long-term wealth building is like a balanced meal, Barnes said.
By taking a balanced approach to your investments, that will give you the biggest chance to create long-term wealth, Barnes said.

Do your due diligence

Another big red flag is if an investment’s promises seem too good to be true.
Content creators may tout strategies with unrealistic returns. Unfortunately, some investors won’t know any better, Yang said.
But it is possible to spot these schemes by doing some research on your own and comparing an investment’s promises to normal returns, Yang said. The S&P 500 Index’s returns over the past 40 or 50 years would be a good benchmark, he said.

Seek professional expertise

Social media can still help you stay up to date on the latest financial information.
But the key is to know your source. Yang used to be a financial advisor with Series 7 and 66 licenses. Other content creators may not have the same level of expertise or positive intentions.
As information on social platforms becomes more personalized, there is the risk you may only see what you want.
“There’s a little bit of confirmation bias that they seek out the information they want to hear,” Barnes said.
To get a sense of whether a strategy is sound and fits your personal goals and risk appetite, you may want to run it by a reputable professional advisor.

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While your tax return isn’t due until April, several key deadlines are approaching by year-end, experts say.
Dec. 31 is the last chance for workplace 401(k) contributions, required minimum distributions, qualified charitable distributions and Roth individual retirement account conversions for 2022.
“You can control your tax-reporting destiny,” said Jim Guarino, managing director at Baker Newman Noyes.

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1. Boost your 401(k) contributions

If you haven’t maxed out your workplace 401(k), there may still be time to boost your contributions for 2022, said Guarino.
The move may lower your adjusted gross income while padding your retirement savings, but “time is of the essence,” he said. With only one or two pay periods left for 2022, you’ll need to make contribution changes immediately. 

2. Take your required minimum distributions

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Unless it’s your first year for required minimum distributions, or RMDs, you must withdraw a specific amount of money from your workplace retirement accounts, such as your 401(k), and most individual retirement accounts, by Dec. 31. (RMDs currently kick in when you turn 72, and you have until April 1 of the following year to take your first distribution.)

If you miss the deadline, “the penalty is massive” — 50% of the amount you should have withdrawn, warned John Loyd, a CFP and owner at The Wealth Planner in Fort Worth, Texas. 
While the deadline isn’t until the end of the month, Loyd calls his clients with an RMD by mid-December to ensure there’s “enough wiggle room” to meet the due date.

3. Plan ahead for qualified charitable distributions

The QCD doesn’t count as taxable income, unlike regular IRA withdrawals, so it’s “really, really beneficial for people that do not itemize [tax deductions],” Loyd explained.
Since few Americans itemize deductions, it’s harder to claim a tax break for charitable gifts. But retirees taking the standard deduction may benefit from a QCD because it’s not part of their adjusted gross income, he said.
However, you’ll need enough time to send the money from your IRA to the charity, and confirm the check has been cashed before year-end, Loyd said. 

4. Time Roth IRA conversions with transfers to a donor-advised fund

Another charitable giving strategy, donor-advised funds, may pair well with a Roth IRA conversion, Guarino said.
Donor-advised funds act like a charitable checkbook, allowing investors to “bunch” multiple years of gifts into a single transfer, providing an upfront tax deduction.

The Roth conversion, which transfers pretax IRA funds to a Roth IRA for future tax-free growth, is attractive when the stock market drops because you can buy more shares for the same dollar amount, he said. 
Although you’ll trigger taxes on the converted amount, it’s possible to offset your liability with the deduction from your donor-advised fund contribution,” Guarino said.
“It’s a great one-two punch to be able to time both of those events in the same year,” he added.

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About half of Generation Z plan to travel home this holiday season; however, many will rely on their parents to pick up the tab, according to a recent report.
Along with rising costs for hotels and rental cars, airfares are up roughly 40% from the same time last year.

Travel demand has surged this year, although not everyone can afford the sky-high tab. Along with rising costs for hotels and rental cars, travelers can expect to pay up to 39% more for a round-trip flight around Christmas compared with last year, according to data from the travel booking app Hopper.
Young adults, in particular, are shifting their holiday getaway plans accordingly, a recent report found.

About half of Generation Z plan to travel home this holiday season. However, 41% will rely on their parents or family members to pay for their travel accommodations, according to a study by Credit Karma.
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One in 10 said they won’t travel home for the holidays because their parents can’t pay for it.
Inflation has made it even harder for those just starting out, who are now squeezed by the surging cost of living and sky-high rents.
Increasingly parents are chipping in — and not just over the holidays.

From buying food to paying for cell phone plans or covering health and auto insurance, half of parents with a child over 18 provide them with at least some financial support, according to a separate study by Savings.com.

These parents are shelling out roughly $1,000 a month, on average, on such expenses, the report found.
However, parents are also feeling stretched too thin.
Of all U.S. adults planning to travel, 79% are changing their plans due to high inflation, another Bankrate.com report found, including shortening their trips, choosing cheaper accommodations, traveling shorter distances or driving instead of flying.

How to save on holiday travel

Travelers walk through the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit on Nov. 21, 2021.
Matthew Hatcher | Getty Images

“If you’re looking for ways to save on your ticket, consider booking travel on less ideal travel days,” advised Colleen McCreary, consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma.
For example, travel on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to snag cheaper fares, she said. Otherwise, opt for smaller, regional airports instead of major hubs, cash in credit card miles or make a connection rather than fly nonstop.
“But really the best thing you can do is act fast,” McCreary said.
“Don’t wait to buy your airline tickets,” she cautioned. “Prices will not get better.”
CNBC’s Select also has a full roundup of tips to save money on your upcoming trips.
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The Supreme Court will decide whether or not the president’s debt relief policy causes harm to the plaintiffs or is an overreach of executive authority.
Legal experts say the Supreme Court is likely to end the forgiveness plan, given its conservative majority.
Long before the president acted, Republicans had criticized student loan forgiveness as a handout to well-off college graduates. They also argued the president didn’t have the power to forgive consumer debt on his own without authorization from Congress.

Student loan debt holders take part in a demonstration outside of the White House staff entrance to demand that President Biden cancel student loan debt.
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The fate of the Biden administration’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan now rests with the Supreme Court.
That may be bad news for borrowers, say legal and higher education experts.

“The court’s conservatives have been very aggressive in striking down the decisions of Congress and the president,” said Gregory Caldeira, a political science professor at Ohio State University. “I would not be surprised if the court invalidated the executive order.”
Higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz agreed.
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“The U.S. Supreme Court is more likely than not to block the president’s student loan forgiveness plan,” Kantrowitz said.
The highest court decided to take the case after the U.S. Department of Justice filed an emergency application asking the justices to lift the injunction on its forgiveness plan that had been issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, in St. Louis, at the request of six GOP-led states.

The justices, who will decide whether or not the president’s debt relief policy causes harm to the plaintiffs or is an overreach of executive authority, said they would hear oral arguments in February.

Ruling will settle ‘for now’ student loan challenges

In August, Preisdent Joe Biden announced that the U.S. Department of Education would deliver student loan forgiveness of up to $20,000 for tens of millions of Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the plan will cost around $400 billion.
Long before the president acted, Republicans had criticized student loan forgiveness as a handout to well-off college graduates. They also argued the president didn’t have the power to forgive consumer debt on his own without authorization from Congress.
Unsurprisingly, the legal challenges poured in. At least six lawsuits have been brought against the president’s plan.

Why the Supreme Court may block forgiveness

For a number of reasons, Urman predicts the Supreme Court will rule against Biden. He said the conservative justices believe government agencies exert too much authority and “violate the separation of powers.” In addition, he said, the concept of loan forgiveness seems to run counter to their notions of individual responsibility.
Such a politically fueled decision, however, is likely to further damage the public’s perception of the Supreme Court, Urman said.
“Striking down forgiveness will add to growing skepticism that the conservative justices vote for conservatives, and the liberal justices vote for liberals,” Urman said. Just 25% of Americans have confidence in the highest court, a Gallup poll found over the summer.

Striking down forgiveness will add to growing skepticism that the conservative justices vote for conservatives.

a law professor at Northeastern University

If the president’s plan is blocked, he added, it will be “another example, along with abortion and guns, of the court taking positions that a majority of Americans oppose.”
In a poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov in August, 51% of respondents said they support Biden’s loan relief plan. Around 40% oppose the initiative.
“In the past, the Supreme Court usually ruled in line with public opinion,” Urman said.

Arguments over the limit of presidential power

Beyond the popularity of its debt relief plan, the Biden administration insists that it’s acting within the law, pointing out that the Heroes Act of 2003 grants the education secretary the authority to waive regulations related to student loans during national emergencies. The U.S. has been operating under an emergency declaration since March 2020.
However, lawyers for the GOP-led states argue that the administration should not be able to use the public health crisis to issue such a sweeping policy.
“The administration is once again invoking the COVID-19 pandemic to assert power far beyond anything Congress could have conceived,” the lawyers wrote in a brief to the justices, pointing out that the highest court previously stopped the White House’s nationwide ban on evictions.

Yet a group of borrower advocacy groups, in a recent brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, said student debt forgiveness was essential to the country’s recovery from the pandemic.
The public health crisis exacerbated the financial difficulties for “borrowers who have, for decades, been at the mercy of a broken student loan system,” they wrote.
Without cancellation, they warned, “working and middle-class borrowers are at substantial risk of default.”

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