Women in Retirement: Enthusiasm, Confidence, and Strategy

Three studies, a MassMutual survey, Ameriprise New Retirement Mindscape, and a BlackRock study, confirm that women are more likely to enjoy retirement but are less confident than men about retirement. Yet, women are more strategic in their approach to that stage of life

Strategic Thinking

Women investors are more cautious in their investing but more likely to think strategically about retirement than men, according to a study released by BlackRock,Inc. Women also expect more from their investments.

Investment Attitudes

A 2010 survey of defined contribution plan participants conducted by MassMutual's Retirement Services Division revealed some surprising findings about participant attitudes and approaches toward investing – and some striking differences based on gender.

MassMutual conducted the online survey of more than 1,000 of its retirement plan participants between November 15, 2009 and January 15, 2010.

Here are some of the results:

75.8% of participants were optimistic about the stock market
Women were just as optimistic as men relative to the market outlook
Women were significantly less confident in making their own investment decisions (32.5%) compared to men (47.8%).
More men enjoy managing their investments (61.5%) than do women (48.1%)
More women prefer to spend as little time as possible on investment decisions (39.3%) compared to men (28%)

The New Retirement Mindscape Study

Later in 2010, Ameriprise Financial released its New Retirement Mindscape II(SM) study. It showed that gender has a significant impact on how consumers approach retirement. Women might be less confident about their overall financial situation, but they are significantly more likely than men to be “enthusiastic” about reaching retirement (74% vs. 65%).

The number of men who report that they are “enjoying retirement a great deal” dropped between 2005 and 2010 from 56% to 67%. The number of women "enjoying retirement a great deal" has remained steady.

Topic: Women in Retirement Subtopics: Confidence • Savings