Women Lag Men in Retirement Confidence, Financial Literacy: BMO Survey

What You Need to Know

A new survey finds that only about half of women feel confident about retiring at their target age compared to two-thirds of men.
Women were far more likely than men to say they did not have a financial plan.
The survey also found a large gap in how women and men are educated about personal finance from a young age.

Only 53% of women say they feel financially confident about retiring at their target age, compared with 66% of men, according to the BMO Real Financial Progress Index, an indicator of how consumers feel about their personal finances and whether they are making financial progress.

In addition, 74% of women lack a plan to reach to reach their financial goals, compared with 58% of men with no plan. This was the biggest gender gap of any issue reported by study participants.

Ipsos conducted the research in the U.S. from Jan. 16 to Feb. 12 among 3,401 adults. BMO released the findings on Tuesday, the day before International Women’s Day.

The new research comes as retirement worries are trending upward across the country, even among those working with a financial advisor.

Women who are not confident in their retirement plans said they needed to take several actions. Saving more topped the list, followed by earning more, investing and limiting spending.

Despite this, 74% of women said they feel in control of their finances, just 5 percentage points lower than the share of men who said this.

BMO noted that in the U.S., women earn 83 cents for every dollar men earn, which adds up to $10,435 a year or $417,400 at the end of an average career and affects the amount of money the average woman can save and invest for retirement.

Adding to women’s financial stress are fear of unknown expenses, reported by 86% of women surveyed, and anxiety over keeping up with monthly bills, reported by 65%.