Women in Their Early 60s Want Annuities More Than Men Do: Study

What You Need to Know

Women age 61 to 65 express more interest in lifetime income products than men of the same age, according to the Alliance for Lifetime Income.
However, they are less likely than men to say their advisor has discussed annuities with them.
Women whose advisors recommend annuities are also more likely than men to buy them.

Fifty-three percent of American women ages 61 to 65 do not think their retirement savings and sources of income will last their lifetime, compared with 36% of men of similar age, the Alliance for Lifetime Income reported this week.

This finding appeared in the third chapter of ALI’s ongoing 2023 Protected Retirement Income and Planning study, which examines the rapidly changing retirement planning landscape.

Sixty-one percent of Peak 65 women (the term ALI applies to women between 61 and 65) report that they are extremely interested in a financial product that guarantees lifetime income, compared to 53% of Peak 65 men. At the same time, these women are much less familiar with annuities than their male counterparts.

“Today, women control a third of total household assets, estimated at more than $10 trillion,”  Jean Statler, ALI chief executive, said in a statement.

Statler said financial professionals had better find ways to protect female clients’ income in retirement. “Speaking from personal experience, if they don’t, those women will most likely go to another advisor who does.”

The PRIP study was conducted online by Artemis Strategy Group in February and March among 2,507 American consumers, of whom 507 were an oversample of Peak 65 consumers for a total of 845 Peak 65 consumers. The study also included 519 financial professionals who conduct retirement planning for individual clients.

Advisors, Take Note

Forty-eight percent of Peak 65 women in the survey expressed great interest in owning an annuity that guarantees steady lifetime income, compared with 37% of Peak 65 men.