- Women retire two years earlier than men and live three years longer—yet they’re socking away less for retirement.
- We’ve got four tips to get back on track.
Less savings and more years of retirement are a bad combination. Yet that is precisely the predicament many American women now find themselves in, according to a new study from the TIAA Institute and market research firm Ipsos.
Women are retiring two years earlier and live three years longer than men (on average), but the research shows they are retiring with 30% less income.1
“Women not saving as much would be an issue even if women and men had the same life expectancies,” said Melody Evans, a TIAA wealth management advisor in Andover, Mass. “But it’s even bigger since women have longer retirements. Women should be coming to retirement with more money than men because they have to spread it over more years.”
Other key findings from the TIAA Institute/Ipsos research:
- Fewer women than men have retirement accounts (64% versus 70%).
- 23% of women planning to retire have at least $250,000 saved in a tax-advantaged retirement account, compared to 29% of men.
- Almost one-quarter (24%) of women are unsure of how much they have in a tax-advantaged retirement account—such as a 401(k), 403(b) or IRA)—compared to 21% of men.
- 16% of women have contributed to their retirement savings in the past year, compared with 21% of men.
- Prior to retirement, 53% of women are thinking about the best retirement savings plans and investments, compared with 65% of men.
- 15% say they don’t even plan to retire (versus 11% of men), viewing retirement as either financially out of reach or just not part of their plans.2
Explanations for why women savers may fall short are all too familiar. The gender pay gap means women have less money to contribute to retirement accounts. Women’s traditional role as caregivers—for children and for aging parents too—may mean less time in the workforce and less opportunity to contribute to tax-advantaged, workplace retirement plans. Finally, there’s evidence women are more conservative investors, allocating less of their portfolios to stocks than men.3
TIAA advisory consultant Kayla Stern offered four ideas for women savers to get their retirement plans back on track:
- Meet with a financial advisor once a year to go over budgeting and saving strategies. Women are less likely to hire financial advisors than men, research shows.4 That may be why women save less and invest differently. Said Stern: “Women often don’t get enough help from financial advisors who can help them jump-start their retirement savings.”
- Use the automatic payroll deduction option to contribute to workplace retirement plans. “You can’t miss what’s not there,” said Stern. “If you wait to save whatever is left over at the end of the month, it’s harder to get started.”
- Take full advantage of any employer match. Let’s say you make $150,000 a year, and your employer matches 401(k) or 403(b) contributions up to 5%. If you’re contributing 4% of your salary instead of 5%, you’re missing out on a $1,500-a-year employer benefit. “You’re leaving free money on the table,” said Stern.
- Consider diversifying your retirement nest egg with lifetime income. Because women live longer, they are at greater risk of outliving their savings. Supplementing retirement accounts with lifetime income can reduce this risk. Social Security is one such source, but it’s often not enough—especially since Social Security is tied to earnings, which are impacted by the gender pay gap. Fixed annuities like TIAA Traditional are another source of lifetime income and are available through individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and a growing number of workplace retirement plans.
Contact your TIAA wealth advisor for more information on lifetime income options.