A third (34 per cent) of U.S. women say they don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, while a fifth (22 per cent) say they’ve emptied their employer-sponsored retirement account to meet non-retirement expenses, according to a new survey by software company Iralogix Inc.
The survey, which polled more than 200 women, found nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) said they’ll outlive their retirement savings and among these respondents, nearly half (48 per cent) believe they’ll deplete their savings between four and seven years into retirement, while a third (30 per cent) said they’ll only have enough money to last between one and three years. Just seven per cent said they have enough savings to last their entire retirement.
However, more than half (59 per cent) of women said they don’t know how much money they’ll need in retirement, don’t have a plan to put aside any retirement money or are struggling to live on their current income and can’t think about retirement savings.
Read: 62% of U.S. women expect to postpone retirement due to inflation: survey
Nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of women said they had to frequently choose between covering essential expenses and putting money into their retirement savings and 44 per cent said the high cost of living is the primary challenge to saving more for retirement. More than two-fifths (43 per cent) of women said they’re unprepared for the impact financial emergencies — like job loss or a medical expense — could have on their retirement savings.
More than half (55 per cent) of women said they’re relying on social security to help fund their retirement and among these respondents, 50 per cent said in order to make ends meet during retirement, social security will need to account for between 41 per cent and more than 60 per cent of their total retirement income.
One in two (53 per cent) women expected they’ll have to work in retirement out of financial need and more than half (53 per cent) said they don’t have a backup plan if their retirement savings fall short of expectations. Half (49 per cent) said they’re considering moving in with their adult children or other family members to save on retirement expenses.
Read: Survey finds married women more confident about retirement than divorced or single women