Many Women Fear They Won’t See a Comfortable Retirement

Feeling financially fragile? If you’re a woman who works outside the home, you've likely been hit with some employment and economic hardships, according to a report from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

Women have made great strides in education and jobs in professions (medicine, finance, law) that used to be almost the exclusive provenance of men. But they still face a stubborn gender pay gap. Over a 40-year career, a woman could miss out on as much as $417,000 in earnings compared with a man, according to the Center for American Progress.

For one thing, women are more likely than men to step out of their careers to care for young children or aging parents — and that can lower lifetime earnings and cut into the ability to save, whittle retirement accumulations and ultimately shrink Social Security benefits. Throw in that women tend to live longer than men and you have an even greater need for more assets in the retirement years.

Here’s how women survey respondents view their retirement prospects in Transamerica’s recent report:

• Very confident they’ll be able to retire comfortably: 21%
• Feel they are saving adequately for retirement: 24%
• Expect to retire after age 70, if at all: 41%
• Worry that Social Security will not be there for them when they are ready to retire: 76%

One thing you can do to boost your retirement strategy, whether you’re early, mid or late-career: Track down any old 401(k)s you might have floating around. It’s easy to forget about them. In the excitement of a new job, an old 401(k) isn’t usually top of mind. But small amounts add up, and several small-balance 401(k)s can mean a considerable sum.

For more, read our story on rolling over a 401(k): whether you should leave it where it is, roll it over into a new employer’s plan or into an individual retirement account (IRA).