Only 30 percent of boomer women and 13 percent of Generation X women have high levels of confidence in acquiring enough savings for a comfortable retirement, according to research from the Insured Retirement Institute.
"Until we see more women feeling better about their household finances and the economy, we do not expect to see high levels of confidence in retirement prospects," said Cathy Weatherford, president and CEO of the IRI. "More women have stopped contributing to their retirement accounts than have increased their contributions. This is not a recipe for retirement security."
The study — culled from information from three surveys of American women and their approach to retirement savings — shows that the majority of women surveyed don't consult with a financial advisor. Generally, those investors that do access financial advisory services have better saving habits.
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The recession and sluggish recovery are a major culprit to lagging state of women's retirement prospects, particularly for Gen X women: 35 percent have experienced difficulties paying their rent or mortgage, 19 percent stopped contributing to a retirement account all together, and 13 percent have prematurely withdrawn funds from their retirement account.
Boomer women fared a bit better relative to the same measurements: 21 percent experienced difficulties paying their rent or mortgage, 17 percent stopped contributing to their retirement accounts, and nine percent prematurely withdrew funds.
A quarter of boomer women and 16 percent of Gen X women have postponed initial retirement plans.
Some of the institute's data is downright bleak. One in five boomer women and 35 percent of Gen X women have no retirement savings. Of the Gen X women with retirement savings, nearly half have less than $50,000.
One in five boomer women don't know when they will retire — a notable fact given that upwards of 10,000 boomers are now retiring daily. Half of the boomer women surveyed said they won't be retiring at 65; nearly one-third will be pushing retirement off until age 70.
Nearly three in four Gen X women have never consulted a financial professional about developing a financial strategy. How the advisory industry taps into this void remains to be seen, but it stands to reason that demand for advisory services won't be going away.
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
