Married women are more likely to say they’re confident they’ll have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years than both divorced and single, never-married women, according to a new survey by the U.S.-based Employee Benefit Research Institute.
It found married women (80 per cent) are more likely to have a workplace retirement savings plan than single, never-married women (71 per cent) and divorced women (69 per cent). Among respondents with a retirement savings plan, roughly 90 per cent of married and divorced women and 80 per cent of single, never-married women said they contribute money to their plan.
A third said they either strongly or somewhat agree they don’t know where to go for good financial or retirement planning advice, a percentage that’s substantially higher for single, never married women (45 per cent).
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More than half of single, never-married women (57 per cent) and divorced women (56 per cent) said they aren’t confident their retirement savings will keep up with the cost of living and inflation, compared to just 29 per cent of married women. Similarly, more than half of divorced women (58 per cent) and single, never-married women (56 per cent) said they have financial assets of less than $25,000, compared to just 27 per cent of married women.
Roughly half (49 per cent) of married women were more likely to say they’ve done a retirement needs calculation, compared to 35 per cent of divorced or single, never-married women.
The survey also found more than half (51 per cent) of both divorced and widowed women who are already retired retired earlier than planned, compared to 42 per cent of married women retirees. Just one in 10 women, regardless of marital status, said they’re likely to retire later than planned.
Two-fifths (41 per cent) of both divorced women and single, never-married women were more likely to agree retirement savings isn’t a priority relative to the current needs of their families, compared to 27 per cent of married women.
“The survey results are a real wake-up call when it comes to the situation of unmarried women workers and their retirement prospects,” said Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at the EBRI, in a press release. “The evidence shows that the current slate of ‘help’ solutions aren’t resonating well enough. In particular, a focus on retirement savings is not paramount for them, as opposed to meeting their current financial needs.”
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