Member Spotlight - October

Living Longer: Aging, Health Care and What It Means for Women

Sumita Paul has spent more than 25 years helping New Zealanders make sense of their money. She began as a Financial Adviser with AMP in Takapuna in 1998, then spent years at Guardian Trust (now Perpetual Guardian) building deep expertise in trusts and estate planning while managing investment portfolios for individuals, multi-generational families and philanthropic organisations. She set up Athena Wealth in July 2021.

Today, through Athena Wealth, Sumita works as an independent, fee-based Certified Financial Planner (CFP^CM) with clients across New Zealand, with a particular focus on women. Sumita is also a Sorted at Work facilitator, bringing financial education into workplaces, and gives her time as the Board Chair of the Grief Centre.

Sumita's core idea: women face aging on different financial terms. They tend to live longer and often reach retirement with less saved, after career breaks and years of unpaid caregiving. They are frequently the ones caring for aging parents or partners, and later they are more likely to need care themselves. Yet few of us plan for the real costs of health care, home support or residential care in later life. Those costs usually become urgent at the most stressful moment, often in a crisis.

At Auckland Executive Club, Sumita will explore how aging and New Zealand's health care system affect women, what those costs look like, and the practical steps women can take now to protect their independence, their choices and their dignity in later life.

Email: sumita@athenawealth.nz
www.athenawealth.nz
Phone: 021 210 8787