The gender gap extends to retirement plan savers, says Nationwide

investmentnews.com:

There’s a notable gender gap in retirement confidence and readiness among US workers, particularly as an increasing number of Americans reach the age of 65, according to a recent survey conducted by the Nationwide Retirement Institute.

The survey of 1,200 participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans found marked disparities in how men and women view and manage their retirement savings.

While one-quarter (23 percent) of women polled believe they’re not on the right track for retirement, that concern was less prevalent among male participants (15 percent). Similarly, 41 percent of women have either a negative or neutral outlook on their retirement planning, compared to 29 percent of men.

The In-Plan Protected Retirement survey also revealed that women are less likely to have reached key financial milestones, such as establishing an emergency fund or adjusting their retirement investment allocations.

A gender gap in views on the current economic environment can’t be helping, with women more likely than men to express concern over how a recession, market volatility, or rising costs could hit their retirement savings.

More than half of the women surveyed (52 percent) said they were worried about outliving their retirement income, yet just over one-eighth have taken steps to diversify their investment portfolios (13 percent) or sought out investment options that provide economic protection (15 percent).

That continues a theme from Nationwide’s ninth annual Advisor Authority Survey published earlier this month, which found that roughly four in ten single women (43 percent) and married women (40 percent) flagged the higher cost of living as one of the biggest long-term challenges threatening their retirement portfolio.

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