Women More Concerned, Less Confident about Retirement vs. Men, Says Survey

While both genders are about equally likely to be offered a workplace retirement savings plan and to be saving through it, women’s median account balances are lower on average, $56,000 vs. $92,000. Image: Zenza Flarini/Shutterstock.com

Women and men overall share the same concerns about their retirement financial security but the level of concern is consistently higher among women, says a report based on a survey by the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies.

For both, the top three concerns are outliving savings and investments, that Social Security will be reduced or cease to exist, and declining health that requires long-term care. However, while those were cited by 44, 43 and 43 percent respectively among women, they were cited by only 37, 35 and 37 percent of men. The difference was even wider, 38 vs. 28 percent, regarding the next most-common concern, not being able to meet basic financial needs of their family.

It added that while 18 percent of women are very confident and another 45 percent are somewhat confident that they “will be able to retire with a comfortable retirement lifestyle, the comparable figures among men are 27 and 48 percent.

While both genders are about equally likely to be offered a workplace retirement savings plan and to be saving through it, women’s median account balances are lower on average, $56,000 vs. $92,000.

“Today’s women are better educated and enjoy career opportunities that were unimaginable half a century ago. Despite this progress, women continue to lag men when it comes to saving, investing, and planning for retirement,” it said.

As in similar past reports, it recommended steps including that women: assess their financial situation and create a budget; begin saving for retirement as early as possible and develop a retirement strategy; anticipate and plan for caregiving and family responsibilities; and take proactive steps to help them remain in the workforce, such as “keeping job skills up to date, learning new skills, following employment trends, and networking.”

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