Among women who plan to work past age 65 and/or in retirement, their reasons for doing so are more often financial. Image: goodluz/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffCompared to men, women tend to be more concerned about their financial security in retirement and overall expect to work longer largely in response to that concern, a poll by the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies has found.
It found that while 73 percent of men said they were confident they could lead a comfortable lifestyle in retirement, including 26 percent who were very confident and 47 percent somewhat confident, only 60 percent expressed confidence, consisting of 19 and 41 percent, respectively. Similarly, 27 percent of women expect Social Security to be their primary source of income in retirement vs. 20 percent for men, while 76 percent are concerned that Social Security “will not be there for me” compared with 69 percent.
Financial stresses that women experience disproportionately, it said, are lower career salaries, higher likelihood of being a caregiver, lower likelihood of having retirement savings plans through their work, and a higher likelihood of having needed to tap into retirement savings for other purposes.
“More than half of women (55%) expect to retire after age 65 or do not plan to retire, including 11% who expect to retire between age 66 and 69, 27% at age 70 or older, and 17% who do not plan to retire. Twenty-two percent of women expect to retire at age 65. In comparison, only 48% of men expect to retire after age 65 or do not plan to retire,” it said.
“Among women who plan to work past age 65 and/or in retirement, their reasons for doing so are more often financial (84%) than healthy-aging related (75%),” while the opposite is true among men, 77 and 81 percent, it added.
It said that the most helpful proactive steps for those planning to work longer are staying healthy, keeping their job skills up to date, networking, meeting new people, and taking classes to learn new skills. While half or more of women have taken each of the first three types of steps, only a quarter or less have taken each of the latter two.
“Women’s ability to achieve a secure retirement ultimately depends on their having access to meaningful employment and equitable pay throughout their working years, and a greater societal recognition of their invaluable unpaid work as mothers and caregivers. Their success depends on employers’ provision of retirement, and health and welfare benefits, and flexible work arrangements that support work-life balance. Policymakers’ preservation of safety nets such as Social Security and Medicare is also imperative,” it said.
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