You know the drill. Women are facing greater retirement challenges than men: they live longer and so will need more money to see them through—especially because of the likelihood of their needing to spend more on health care—and they make less.

While they provide care to family members in need, by the time they hit retirement they’re much less likely to have anyone to provide care to them—hence the increased health care spending.

And they’re out of the job market for protracted periods of time because of having and raising children and/or providing care to ailing and elderly family members.

And a new study reveals that women, probably unsurprisingly, are more likely to worry about their personal finances.

The MassMutual study finds that women are three times more likely to say they cannot afford to save for retirement than men are. In addition, the study finds that among middle-income Americans, men and women have different saving habits, especially when it comes to retirement.

Fifty-one percent of women say they worry at least once a week about money, while only 45 percent of men do, according to the study.

And women are also more likely to bring their money worries with them to work. Men, on the other hand, are twice as likely to say they never worry about money.

And when it comes to savings, while 74 percent of women and 71 percent of men say they’re not putting away enough for retirement, men are more confident about ending up financially secure in retirement.

While 47 percent of women say they are “not very” or “not at all” confident about being financially secure in retirement.

Just 39 percent of men admit to that level of worry.

While 44 percent of women say they can’t afford retirement savings, just 14 percent of men say so—and men pay themselves first, with 44 percent saying they save a set amount every month.

Only 33 percent of women do that, with 47 percent saying they save “whatever is left after expenses.” Among men, just 34 percent do that.

Women don’t think all that highly of their retirement plans, either, with a quarter of them saying they don’t save because their employer either doesn’t match retirement plan contributions or doesn’t offer a compelling match.

Among men, 21 percent say the same thing.

And just 20 percent of women say they have $10,000 or more in savings for financial emergencies, while 30 percent of men do.

In addition, 73 percent of women who are not saving for anything other than retirement say all of their income goes towards monthly expenses and bills; 62 percent of men say the same. Women are also less likely than men to use any extra money to pay off debt (38 percent to 47 percent, respectively).

Instant Insights /

Women more likely to be unable to save for retirement

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