Retiring With Confidence
While women undoubtedly have extra challenges to overcome when planning and saving for retirement , research has shown that when they are educated on money and investing , they tend to be better investors than their male counterparts . According to recent studies :
• Women tend to be better savers . Research looking at personal banking behavior found that women put 9 % of their paychecks into savings and 12.4 % into their IRA and brokerage accounts , compared to 8.6 % and 11.6 % for men . 15
• Women tend to be better investors . That same study found that women ’ s portfolios earned 0.4 % more annually than men ’ s – a difference that could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a career . Part of this discrepancy could be explained by patience : A 2001 study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that male investors traded 45 % more often than women , reducing their net returns by 0.93 %. 16
• Women are taking more control over their family ’ s investment decisions . Baird ’ s own research from 2021 has found that 85 % of all women play an active role in managing their household ’ s investments , and 43 % consider themselves to be the primary decision-maker . 17
• Women achieved better investment results with less risk . According to a 2016 study by the Wealth and Investment Management Analytics group , female investors achieved higher returns while taking on less risk compared to men . 18
So why are only 17 % of women reporting that they are “ very confident ” they ’ ll be able to retire comfortably ? 19 Why do more than one-third of younger affluent women report having a real fear of running out of money ? 17
The key to retiring with confidence – to putting those advantages to work for you and your future – is similar to achieving any large goal . It ’ s about understanding where you are now , where you want to go and how to get there in the way that ’ s best for you . The next section will focus on that journey – the advantages you bring , the obstacles you face – as you evaluate your financial readiness for retirement .
Importantly , as you think about retiring with confidence , be sure to also consider how your life might evolve in the coming years and decades , in unexpected and potentially unwelcome ways . How prepared are you to address any health concerns that often accompany getting older ? If you are married , how prepared are you in the event of divorce or widowhood ? Now is the time to learn and build up your confidence so that – if needed – you ’ ll be able to stand on your own .
More than half of all women age 70 or older are widowed or divorced . 20
Percentages are rounded .
• Married 43 %
• Unmarried 5 %
• Widowed 39 %
• Divorced / Separated 14 %
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