For many adults in the U.S., saving enough money for a comfortable retirement isn't easy. If you are part of the LGBTQ+ community, you may face additional challenges. Many LGBTQ+ adults lag behind their heterosexual counterparts in retirement savings, with discrimination sometimes being the reason. Here is what you need to know and do.

Ways to Save for Retirement

Most of the basics of saving and investing for retirement apply regardless of an individual's sex.

For example, if your employer offers a 401(k), 403(b), or similar 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:tax-advantaged retirement plan, contributing to it as much as you can is a good first step. Many employers will also 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:match your contributions, such as kicking in an extra 50 cents for ev🅷ery dollar you contribut♕e.

These plans come in two basic varieties: traditional and Roth. With a traditional plan, you get a tax deduction for the money you contribute but will have to pay income tax on those contributions and the money they earn over the years when you eventually make withdrawals. Any additional contributions that your employer made to your account become taxable at that point, to🤡o.

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Which type you might want to choose will depend on whether you'd prefer your tax break now or later. And there is no reason that you can't have both types of plans as long as your total contributions don't exceed certain limits, which can change from year to year.

If your employer doesn't offer a tax-advantaged retirement plan, or if you're fortunate enough to have even more money to sock away, you can open an 澳洲幸ꦑ运♌5官方开奖结果体彩网:individual retirement account, or IRA. These accounts also come in both💝🌸 traditional and Roth varieties.

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🎀Of course, you can also put money aside for retirement in regular taxable accounts.

Challenges Facing LGBTQ+ Retirees and Pre-Retirees

LGBTQ+ retirees and pre-retirees also face some unique challenges.

For one thing, LGBTQ+ individuals have higher rates of poverty than their cisgender straight counterparts, making it more difficult to save for retirement. According to a 2023 study, 17% of LGBT people in the U.S. lived in poverty in 2021, compared with 12% of cisgender straight people. Fortunately, those numbers have been improving; the 17% figure is down from 23% in 2020.

The opportunity to marry, made legal by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015, has helped improve the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:financial lives of some🅷 same-sex co𒀰uples, conferring such bꦚenefits as the ability to file joint tax returns (which usually means less tax) and having access to a spouse's Social Security benefits or health insurance. But many members of the LGBTQ+ community still lag behind heterosexual people in terms of retirement savings. And, oꦡf course, not everyone, LGBTQ+ or otherwise, will ever marry.

Perhaps not surprisingly, LGBTQ Americans are less likely to be confident that they'll have sufficient financial resources to live comfortably in retirement, according to a 2022 study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). The study found that disparity at all income levels. For example, among high earners, 76% of LGBTQ respondents expressed confidence, compared with 89% of their non-LGBTQ counterparts.

Despite considerable progress, discrimination remains widespread, especially on the state level and particularly with regard to employment, notes Jennifer Hatch, president of Christopher Street Financial, a New York-based firm that specializes in the financial issues of LGBTQ+ couples, individuals, and their allies. "Sometimes this is overt and legal, and sometimes it is covert and illegal. Either way, all forms of employment discrimination impact an individual's career choices, ambitions, expectations, and ultimate financial resources," Hatch says.

Disparities also exist in health insurance coverage, which can have a profound effect on individuals' ability to save for retirement. While the Patient Protection and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Affordable Care Act generally forbids discrimination "on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics)," many states permit exceptions for certain members of the LGBTQ+ community. For example, only 24 states plus the District of Columbia prohibit private insurers from excluding gender-affirming care for transgender individuals from their coverage, and two states explicitly allow insurers to exclude such care.

The Bottom Line

Saving for retirement can pose additional challenges for LGBTQ+ people. Despite positive strides in recent decades, discrimination continues to affect the financial well-being of many LGBTQ+ adults, who may lag in retirement savings. Fortunately, there are resources available to help.