Women on average were found to have saved 43% less for retirement than men and uniformly see themselves as being less on track to meet their financial goals than men, according to a recent report.
Data from Prudential’s 2018 Financial Wellness Census finds that women have saved an average of $115,000 compared with $203,000 for men and nearly half (46%) of women said they have no retirement savings.
The biggest gaps are found in how prepared women believe themselves to be able to:
- maintain their families’ standard of living if something happens to them (37% of women versus 55% of men);
- help their children with a down payment for a home (28% versus 45%);
- have enough savings to last through their retirement years (36% versus 51%); and
- choose how they spend their retirement (40% versus 54%).
In addition, only 38% are certain how much monthly income they’ll want to have in retirement and only 31% know how much they’ll have to save up to reach their retirement goals. Despite these broad findings, women and men on average expect to retire at age 67.
Meanwhile, the top retirement priority for women is ensuring their financial security in the event of outliving a spouse or partner, according to the study. More than a quarter of women (28%) said they plan to rely on their spouse’s money as a significant portion of retirement income.
Women were also found to place more emphasis on keeping up with current expenses, having enough savings to last through their retirement years and ensuring they can pay for their future health care costs, the study notes.
“Accumulating savings for retirement is important. But finding a way to generate a regular income in retirement is vital to a secure retirement for all, and particularly for women who have been unable to save as much as men,” notes Kent Sluyter, President of Prudential Annuities.
However, the study also shows that two-thirds of women do not work with a financial advisor, either because they believe they can’t afford it or they don’t have adequate resources to warrant an advisor’s help.
“For women especially, who are increasingly bearing more responsibility as primary wage earners and being the ‘CFOs’ of their household, it is even more important to help close the retirement income gap,” notes Melissa Kivett, senior vice president, chief marketing and customer experience officer for Prudential Individual Solutions Group.
