Women Have Retirement Funding Fears

A news release said the survey of more than 3,000 women sponsored by Meredith Corporation and NBC Universal also found 52% of women and/or their partners are counting on personal savings/investments for their retirement. Three quarters of respondents said they are concerned about their ability save enough for retirement, while 77% said they are concerned about the future of Social Security.

According to the release, Baby Boomer women are especially concerned about the future of social security (84%), while Gen X women are particularly concerned about saving enough for retirement (84%). Despite these concerns, two-thirds (67%) of women and/or their partners reported they are counting on social security for retirement; with 79% of Baby Boomers expressing that sentiment.

Mothers of children under 18 and single mothers are more likely than most to be concerned about saving enough for retirement (82% and 85%, respectively), according to the poll.

When it comes to health care issues, nearly half (46%) of women reported being extremely concerned about rising health care costs — especially Baby Boomer women (55%) and single mothers with children under 18 (52%). Among respondents with health coverage, nearly half (46%) indicated they are worried about being able to afford health care when they retire, and 40% said their “co-payments keep increasing and becoming too expensive”

Applied Research & Consulting conducted the online survey among 3,000 women ages 18-64 from October 1 to October 12, 2007.