4/1/13
Three-quarters of women have no specific retirement goals, according to TD Ameritrade. One in four over age 23 (22%) has not started saving for retirement, compared with 13% of men.
Women are more likely than men to anticipate they will be financially worse off in retirement than they are now (30% vs. 23%). Nearly half (48%) say they aren’t looking forward to retirement.
Women Lack Action Plans
Age 34 is a key turning point for women, with 38% over that age saying they have started to save for retirement. Women say they expect to need retirement income for 20 years and want to set aside an average $1.8 million. Men want to set aside $1.3 million.
Women today are less likely to feel worried about their retirement than they were in 2011 (20% today vs. 25% in 2011), according to Ameriprise Financial. One in four women (24%) feel very confident they’ll reach their retirement goals, and 44% feel somewhat confident.
While women may have confidence, they lack actual plans for action. Women are less likely than men to have contributed to a workplace retirement plan (44% vs. 51%), set aside funds in their own investments (42% vs. 52%), or determined the amount of income they will need in retirement (19% vs. 28%). Women are also less likely to say they anticipate changing their planned retirement date (23% vs. 28%). At the same time, women are more likely than men to say they’re making plans to stay healthy during retirement (56% vs. 49%).
More than three in four women (77%) are making plans for at least one lifestyle activity in retirement, and 44% are preparing for at least three post-retirement activities. Nearly half (45%) have made plans to spend time with family and 24% want to engage in more meaningful work post-retirement.
One-quarter of women (24%) underestimate the years they’ll need to live from their savings, saying they plan to live from their savings for less than 10 years. Nevertheless, nearly half (48%) say they are concerned they will outlive their retirement savings.
Sources: Ameriprise Financial, Meghan Mumm, 1099 Ameriprise Financial Ctr., Minneapolis, MN 55474; 612-671-0823; meghan.l.mumm@ampf.com; www.amerprise.com.
TD Ameritrade, Christina Goethe, 1 Plaza Four A, Jersey City, NJ 07311; 201-369-8541; christina.goethe@tdameritrade.com; www.tdameritrade.com.
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