Women are running behind men on saving for retirement, thanks to lots of handicaps that include lower pay, fewer years in the workplace, longer lives and less retirement savings.

So it’s no surprise that they’re also considerably more worried than men about retirement.

Read: How best to communicate retirement planning to female clients

A study from the Insured Retirement Institute has found that not only are 80 percent of women worried that they haven’t saved enough for retirement, 54 percent of them are “very concerned.”

But when their worries are viewed in comparison with men’s retirement concerns, women outpace them considerably.

Fifty-four percent of women are very concerned about being able to retire when they want to, while just 34 percent of men say that.

And 53 percent of women are very concerned about being able to afford the lifestyle they want throughout retirement, compared with 36 percent of men.

Since their fears are well grounded, it’s to be expected that they’re also more worried about these financial aspects as well:

debt (63 percent compared with 48 percent of men)
paying bills (again, 63 percent compared with 48 percent of men)
investments declining in value (62 percent compared with 53 percent of men)

Read: Female breadwinners hassled by families, ignored by advisors

It’s harder for women to find things to cut back on, so that they can save money, than for men—36 percent of women said it was a challenge, while 31 percent of men said so.

Interestingly, though, women report less trouble in “just finding the discipline” to save—men topped that category, at 26 percent, while just 18 percent of women said it was a problem for them.

And it’s not that they’re not saving; 78 percent of women, compared with 75 percent of men, say they’re contributing to their company’s retirement plan.

Read: Retirement savings 'gender gap' puts women way behind

But they still don’t feel they’re saving enough; 41 percent of women said they’re “a little behind schedule” on retirement saving, compared with 36 percent of men—yet the coin flips for “far behind schedule,” with 22 percent of men saying so while just 17 percent of women do.

Instant Insights /

Yes, Virginia, you should be worried about retirement

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