Women are at greater risk than men of not achieving a financially secure retirement.
Living longer, lower pay and time out from the workplace for parenting and caregiving negatively impact a woman’s chances for a secure woman’s retirement.
The following facts were gathered in 2022 from the non-profit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
- Only 18% of working women are “very confident” that they will be able to fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle.
- Retirement dreams include traveling (68%), spending more time with family and friends (60%), pursuing hobbies (46%), working (32%) and volunteering (28%).
- Among women who plan to work past age 65 and/or in retirement, more cite doing so for financial reasons (83%) than healthy-aging reasons (77%).
- Only 29% of women have a back-up plan for retirement income in the event they are unable to work before their planned retirement.
- Some women are not being proactive enough to work past age 65. Only 61% say they are staying healthy and 48% are keeping their job skills up-to-date. Only 22% are taking classes to learn new skills.
- Steps women are taking to protect their long-term health include; eating healthy (57%), exercising regularly (53%), getting enough rest (49%) and maintaining a positive outlook (48%).
- 77% of women are saving for retirement at work and outside the workplace.
- The estimated median amount of retirement savings for women is $57,000.
- Women estimate they will need to save $500,000 (median) to feel financially secure in retirement; many (52%) guessed their savings needs.
- Only 24% of women have a written retirement strategy, but 43% have an unwritten strategy.
- 27% of women expect Social Security to be their primary source of retirement income.
- 42% of women fear that Social Security will be reduced or cease to exist in the future.
- Paying off debt is the most often cited financial priority for women (62%), while 56% cite saving for retirement and 46% cite building an emergency fund as priorities.
- Women have only $4,000 in total household emergency savings (median).
- 17% of women frequently discuss saving, investing and planning for retirement with family and friends.
- Only 34% of women use a professional financial advisor.
- 27% of women have taken a loan, early withdrawal and/or hardship withdrawal from their retirement plan (401(k)/IRA)
- 35% of women are or have been caregivers during their working careers and most caregivers (83%) made work adjustments because of caregiving including missing work (36%).
These statistics are very revealing about the current state of affairs for women in their quest to achieve a comfortable and stable retirement.
For 40 years, Retirement Solutions has been helping women achieve financial independence and peace of mind. We offer a no obligation, no cost 15 minute consultation to determine where you are financially and whether we can assist you with your desire to achieve a secure retirement.
If you are interested, click the “Schedule a Consultation” button in the upper right corner of this page so that we can talk about your situation. Again, no obligation, no cost, we promise.