This blogger is not at all happy to find out that women are less likely than men to begin saving for retirement before the age of 30. A Rasmussen/Country Financial poll found that 42% of men vs. 35% of women start saving for this goal before the big 3-0.
This is even more troubling when one discovers that women are becoming far more pessimistic than men regarding the ability of the average middle class family to retire. Of the 50% of Americans who now believe that a middle class family cannot successfully save enough to secure a comfortable retirement, only 29% of women vs. 44% of men overall believe the same. The gender gap is even more dramatic for married individuals: just 32% of married women compared to 53% of married men think a middle income family can save for retirement.
And just to beat a dead horse a little more… Men are most concerned about ending up with enough money to “do what they like to do ” as they age (47%), while women are closely split between the same concern (37%) and worrying that they will run out of money altogether (36%). Run out of money altogether! And yet, men are more likely to say they have taken steps to alleviate their concerns (61%) than women (48%).
So women worry more and do less. This is not entirely new information, of course, and we are aware of its social, educational and cultural underpinnings, but the numbers are alarming.
Those of us in the financial services sector need to do better. I’ve talked about women and financial services before. At the event that sparked that very post, I met Linda Descano, the talented COO of Citicorp’s Women & Co. Women & Co is a smart, savvy resource that’s free for select Citibank/Smith Barney clients and $125 a year for others. Worth every penny.
We need more more more. High school graduation rates in this country are a mess, we know. But college? When we’re in charge, no one gets out of college without taking a required series of mini-courses every year on how to save, invest and build credit. Yes, when we’re in charge…
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[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThis is even more troubling when one discovers that women are becoming far more pessimistic than men regarding the ability of the average middle class family to retire. Of the 50% of Americans who now believe that a middle class family … [...]
Pingback by How much money do I need » Women need to get on the financial stick, and fast 04.14.08 @ 11:14 pmWhere did you find the stats you quoted in this article? I’d be interested in similar info. Thanks.
Comment by Erica 04.15.08 @ 9:18 amLeave a comment
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