AARP National Association of Hispanic Journalists PANEL – “Salud, Dinero, y Amor”
What do you think is the biggest issue that impacts finances in the Hispanic 50+ community and why should journalists care?
- The top four areas of greatest financial need or concern to Hispanic people 50+ are:
- Meeting family’s financial needs;
- Earning more money & saving for the future;
- Job security, and
- Not being a financial burden to others.
Everyone should care – especially journalists. There are currently 11.1 million Latinos in the U.S. and more than 500,000 of them turn 50 every year. In addition, the Latino 50-plus population is growing five times faster than the general 50-plus population and accounts for half of the total 50-plus population growth in this country. It’s important for us to arm the community with the proper education, information and guidance on important areas of financial security: your job and planning for the future.
Where can journalists go to find information about financial programs, tools, and offerings that can be of use to the 50-plus audience?
AARP.org provides programs and offerings for work & jobs (offering tools and resources to keep you competitive in the workplace), Fraud Prevention programs (AARP Fraud Watch), and Savings & Planning.
How is the 50+ community redefining themselves financially in 2018?
The 50+ community is active, enthusiastic, and ambitious to continue living their best life now. The community is exploring and developing new careers, maximizing investments and making smart and innovative financial moves to pursue life-long dreams.
Now that people are living longer, what do they need to keep in mind to make their savings also last longer?
Necessary Retirement Saving by Age of 50s is $300,000 approximately. Your 50’s are a pivotal time not just in your career, but on the road to retirement. By the time your 50s roll around, you’ll have conceivably been working for a good 30 years, which means your earnings will likely have peaked. It also means you might finally be done with college tuition, especially if you had children earlier on.
Keep in mind that it’s easy to make excuses for not saving at any age. For many adults in their 50s, the reason boils down to mounting expenses and high levels of debt. So that means you must cut back on expenses, take a second job, or do whatever else is necessary to free up more money for your next 10 years.
People needs to keep in mind that having successful habits of controlling their expenses is a key to grow their wealth. … If you want to achieve your financial goal the most important step is to save first.
What trends are you seeing among Hispanics regarding second careers in the 50-plus years? What are some of the better opportunities that are available for people who want to supplement their savings by earning in their “retirement” years?
- Myth No. 1: It’s Too Late to Switch Careers and IT IS NOT!!!
- Myth No. 2: It’s Embarrassing…How wrong you are!
Hispanic do not tend to visualize what really matters to them. They work hard for the family, kids, in a routine.
They need to seek for better opportunities and they often want to start with their resume. But what’s on your resume will not help you make a real change. You have to begin with a deeper dive into not just what you’ve done, but who you are. At this point:
Seek professional help… Invest in yourself. Pay yourself first. It’s not about the money. Wealth is a State of Mind and when you learn how to have a wealthy state of mind, you’re in a prime position to attract more money to you.
At 50s, yes, you still need a decent income to afford life’s necessities and luxuries. But you should also focus on personal satisfaction, developing your talents and contributing to society.
- Deal with the fear
- Change is never without stress and anxiety. Talk to your spouse, children, friends, relatives and colleagues about the changes you’re going through, and seek their assistance and support.
- Use your network
- Be flexible
- Learn to adjust and change.
Your post-50 years can be your most enjoyable and rewarding if you have the right attitude.
Should Latinos who are counting on social security income in their retirement years be concerned about having that money available to them?
Social Security is a particularly important source of income for elderly Hispanics. In the absence of Social Security, more than half of elderly Hispanics would live in poverty.
On average, Hispanics have lower lifetime earnings, a higher incidence of disability, more children per family, and, by official measures, longer life expectancy than the population as a whole.
And it’s a reasonable concern. Social Security is facing a significant shortfall. You should be worried about Social Security — but not just because of that projected deficit. Rather, what you should be concerned with is the notion of having to live on just 40% of your previous income, because that’s all Social Security is designed to replace in a best-case scenario. And once you accept that reality, you’ll be better positioned to fret less about Social Security and instead focus your efforts on aggressively building your savings.
That is why we need to focus to amass some savings and help improve your financial outlook.