TD Ameritrade: Women Plan To Get By With Less

  • September 2, 2009
Women are content retiring with less money saved for retirement than men, according to a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corp. on behalf of TD Ameritrade.

The survey, which included responses from employed men and women, found 73% of women are comfortable accumulating less than $1 million in savings before retirement, compared to 63% of men. The survey also found only 22% of women would like to accumulate $1 million or more in savings before retirement, compared to 32% of men. Additionally, twice as many men (12%) as women (5%) will strive to accumulate at least $5 million in savings before retiring.

This instability should actually serve as a motivator for women, said Diane Young, director, retirement and goal planning, TD Ameritrade. Marketers could take advantage by gearing their message toward that mindset. "The key is to do everything you can to understand your current financial situation and plan accordingly to make sure your assets will last in retirement," Young says. "And since women tend to live longer than men, it's vital that they implement financial plans that will last for the duration of their post-retirement years."

advertisement

advertisement

When asked how confident they were in achieving their targeted amounts in retirement savings, 79% of men responded that they were confident, compared to 66% of women. When asked what they expect will be their biggest challenges in retirement, both men and women reported "being able to afford rising healthcare costs" as their number one challenge.--Tanya Irwin

Next story loading loading..