What Women Need to Know About Retirement

Chapter One: Women and Retirement Income: Some Facts to Get You Thinking Planning for the future can be a daunting task. The younger you are, the easier it is to put it off until next month or next year. The older you are, the harder it is to find the time and the energy. Both men and women need to plan for how they will pay the bills during their retirement years. But it is especially important for women, who live on average four years longer than men and as a result need more income. It’s important to understand the facts and learn how to plan for the future. Over the next two decades, nearly 40 million women will reach retirement age. Unfortunately, our nation’s retirement system was created at a time when men were the primary wage earners and women worked at home; the system has not kept up with the times. Some women today are fortunate enough to be able to rely on a stable retirement income based on three sources known as the three-legged stool: 1) Social Security benefits, 2) income from an employer-provided retirement plan, and 3) individual savings. In theory, these three legs stand strong and provide enough income to pay the bills, cover health care costs, weather unforeseen tragedies like illness or the death of a spouse and, in the case of Social Security, adjust fully to rising inflation. However, for most women, that three-legged retirement stool is wobbly at best. Many older women rely on Social Security as their only income source in retirement; they have no retirement plan and little savings. Many also took time out of the workforce to raise children or to take care of a family member who was ill, and often when they returned to work, it was to low-wage jobs with no benefits. Women take an average 13 years out of the workforce for family caregiving. Generally, financial experts suggest that people plan to replace between 70 and 90 percent of pre-retirement income if they want to maintain their current lifestyle during the estimated 20 to 30 years spent in retirement. But because of their longer lives, lower pay and lack of benefits, women need to replace even more than that—some experts suggest at least a 100 percent replacement rate. Why Women Are Falling Short: Some Basics To spend their retirement years in comfort and security, women must start planning early. The first step in this process is understanding why retirement security is so elusive by looking at some of the most basic and troublesome facts about women’s earnings, work status, life expectancy, marital status, and retirement income: Earnings • Two-thirds of working women earn less than $30,000 a year. • Nearly half of all women work in low-paying jobs without retirement plans or 401(k)s. • Women earn on average 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Opciones “In the money”, “At the money” y “Out of the money”

In the money: Cuando existe una diferencia favorable (para el titular) entre el precio de ejercicio y el precio del activo subyacente.
At the money:
Cuando coinciden el precio del activo subyacente y el precio de ejercicio.
Out of the money:
Cuando existe una diferencia desfavorable (para el titular) entre el precio de ejercicio y el precio del activo subyacente. Ejemplo: En el supuesto que el activo subyacente cotiza a 75 centavos;

Definición de un contrato de Opción

Contrato que otorga a su titular (comprador) el derecho (pero no la obligación) de comprar o de vender al emisor (lanzador) de la opción una determinada cantidad de una determinada mercancía (activo subyacente) a un precio preestablecido (precio de ejercicio) durante un determinado tiempo (plazo). Para obtener ese derecho (sin obligación) el comprador paga un precio el emisor (prima).

Resources for everyone - II

The Story of Banks, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
http://www.newyorkfed.org—Click “Publications Catalog” and “Comics.”
The Story of Checks and Electronic Payments, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
http://www.newyorkfed.org—Click “Publications Catalog” and “Comics.”
The Story of Money, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
http://www.newyorkfed.org—Click “Publications Catalog” and “Comics.”
What You Need to Know About Payment Cards, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
http://philadelphiafed.org—Click on “Publications” and “Consumer Booklets.”
What You Should Know About Internet Banking, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
http://www.chicagofed.org—Click on “Education Resources” and “Personal
Finance Information.”
What You Should Know About Your Checks, Board of Governors
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/check21/shouldknow.htm
What Your Credit Report Says About You, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
http://www.philadelphiafed.org/consumers/creditreport.html
When is Your Check Not a Check?, Board of Governors
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/checkconv/default.htm
Your Credit Rating, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
http://www.philadelphiafed.org/consumers/creditrating.html
Your Credit Report, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
http://www.frbsf.org/publications/consumer/creditreport.html

Resources for everyone - I

You can request hard copies of many of these publications through the Federal Reserve’s online publications catalog: http://www.newyorkfed.org—Click “Publications Catalog.”

A Guide to Your First Bank Account, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta http://www.frbatlanta.org—Click “Publications” and “Books and Brochures.” A Penny Saved, Federal Reserve Bank of New York http://www.newyorkfed.org—Click “Publications Catalog” and “Comics.”

  Building Wealth, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas http://www.dallasfed.org—Click “Publications & Resources.” Choosing a Credit Card, Board of Governors http://www.federalreserve.gov—Click “Publications and Education Resources” and “Consumer Information Brochures.” Consumer Guide to Check 21 and Substitute Checks, Board of Governors http://www.federalreserve.gov—Click “Publications and Education Resources” and “Consumer Information Brochures.” How to Establish, Use, and Protect Your Credit, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia http://www.philadelphiafed.org—Click “Publications” and “Consumer Booklets.” In Plain English: Making Sense of the Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications—Click “In Plain English.” Paying for It: Checks, Cash, and Electronic Payments, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta http://www.frbatlanta.org—Click “Publications” and “Books and Brochures

How does the Federal Reserve fit into the U.S. banking system? - III

Does the Federal Reserve process all the checks Americans write?
No. The Federal Reserve Banks handle less than one-third of all U.S. checks. Private entities process the rest.
Is the Federal Reserve responsible for regulating and supervising the entire U.S. banking system? No. It shares this responsibility with other federal and state regulatory agencies. Does the Federal Reserve set interest rates? The Federal Reserve is responsible for U.S. monetary policy. This means it makes policies that influence how much money and credit will be available to the U.S. economy. Interest rates often go up or down in response to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions, but only the discount rate is set directly by the Federal Reserve. The discount rate is the rate banks pay when they borrow from the Federal Reserve.

How does the Federal Reserve fit into the U.S. banking system? - II

When was the Federal Reserve established?
Congress created the Federal Reserve System in 1913 to help make the U.S. banking system safer and more efficient. How many Federal Reserve Banks are there? There are twelve Federal Reserve Banks. Each of the twelve Reserve Banks serves its own Federal Reserve District.
Where is the headquarters for the Federal Reserve?
The System’s headquarters is in Washington, D.C. It is called the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Does the Federal Reserve lend money to businesses and consumers?
No. The Federal Reserve does not lend money to private borrowers, but it sometimes lends money to banks when the need arises.
Does the Federal Reserve print U.S. paper money?
No. Although Federal Reserve Notes account for almost 100 percent of the U.S. paper money in circulation, the notes are actually printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which is part of the U.S. Treasury Department. The paper money is then shipped to the Federal Reserve Banks and their branches. When banks need cash for their customers’ needs, they order it from the Federal Reserve Bank in their District. Also, since money gradually wears out, the Federal Reserve Banks process cash in order to determine its fitness. Worn out bills are shredded; new bills are introduced into the system to replace the old ones.
Do all Federal Reserve Banks store gold bars in their vaults?
Only the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has a working gold vault, and almost all of the gold in its vault is foreign-owned. The U.S. government’s gold is held at Fort Knox, Kentucky, the U.S. Mints in Denver and Philadelphia, the San Francisco Assay Office of the U.S. Mint, and the U.S. Bullion Depository in West Point, New York.