Women far too often lag behind in retirement savings and it’s having a significant impact on their golden years, according to a new study from Goldman Sachs.
In fact, 58% of women retirees in America report that they have 50% or less income in retirement than they did while working, even when they include Social Security, according to the Goldman study, “Navigating the Financial Vortex: Women and Retirement Security.”
“These statistics reveal the deeply human nature of the decisions that at times require women to prioritize family, caregiving or health-related issues over their financial futures,” said Jennifer Huisking, vice president at Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, in a commentary on the study.
Notably, only 20% of women retirees have reached 70% of their pre-retirement income, while 30% of men have, the study said.
These savings deficits are compounded by the fact that American women live three years longer on average than men, requiring more, not less, savings to be comfortable in retirement.
The time women spend out of the workforce to care for children or elderly family members is a critical factor that contributes to their savings deficits. According to the study, two four-year periods out of the workforce (one in mid-career and one later on) can reduce retirement savings up to 35%.
While 50% of men said they retired earlier than planned, that percentage rose to 61% for women. Only 15% of women said they retired because their “savings were sufficient to fund my retirement” while 25% of men said the same.
Of the 66% of women who said they retired for reasons outside their control, they most often cited health reasons (named by 29%), the need to take care of family (cited by 16%), or the fact that their job was no longer available (cited by 15%).
“Women more often than men are forced to work part-time, spend time out of the workforce to care for young children and elderly family members, and juggle other financial priorities during their careers,” said Candice Tse, global head of Strategic Advisory Solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “This can make their journey to retirement more difficult and incredibly personal.”
Women saving for retirement now also report being woefully behind. A significantly larger percentage of women, 50%, said they were behind schedule, something said by only 35% of men. Furthermore, 24% of women said they were “very behind schedule,” while only 14% of men were. While nearly half of women, or 47%, said they felt on track or ahead of schedule, a much larger percentage of men said so, 64%.