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February 27, 2025 | BlackRock Retirement Perspectives
Women face unique saving challenges
Women not only face the pay gap throughout their careers but also have a longer life expectancy, necessitating more extensive planning and saving for retirement.
The right strategy can result in better preparedness
Women feel confident when they are saving for retirement, and we believe that guaranteed retirement income can help prepare them for the future.
Workplace retirement plans can boost women’s confidence
Guaranteed income plans may help women feel more secure, potentially leading to better investment decisions and the ability to focus on other important decisions.
Women face some unique challenges when it comes to saving. Whether it be the gender pay gap, or sometimes the career gaps that can come with caregiving responsibilities. Women also live longer than men, on average. So it might not be a surprise then, that while 75% of men feel on track to retire with the lifestyle they want, just 59% of women do.
That said, the right strategy, we believe women can be – and feel - better prepared for
the long-term.
For women who are worried about outliving their savings and that’s 65% of them (Source: BlackRock, Read on Retirement, 2023) guaranteed income for life could mean spending security to do more of the things they care about in retirement, like starting a business, traveling, volunteering, and donating. They could also feel secure investing more, giving women confidence to introduce greater risk into liquid portfolio assets and perhaps even help them accumulate additional wealth for future generations.
Finally, women could be doing more of what matters. Now. When workers know they’ll have guaranteed income in the future, they have the time and headspace to focus on the things that aren’t always certain. And we all know that can be a long list.
The bottom line is: There are so many uncertainties in life…why add retirement income to the list? We owe it to workers to help them achieve a more secure financial future-for life.
For women who are worried about outliving their savings and that’s 65% of them guaranteed income for life could be a game-changer. BlackRock Co-Head of U.S. Wealth Jaime Magyera explains.
Women face unique challenges when it comes to saving: the gender pay gap, and the career gap that can come with caregiving responsibilities. They are also living an average of 5.8 years more than men. So it might not be a surprise, then, that while 75% of men feel on track to retire with the lifestyle they want, 59% of women do.1
But we also know that women say they are more confident because they are saving for retirement (88%).2
What does this all mean for women and retirement? We believe it means that with the right strategy, they’ll be better prepared for the long… long-term.
The strategy we have in mind? Guaranteed retirement income.
For women who are worried about outliving their savings and that’s 65% of them 3 guaranteed income for life could mean spending security to do more of the things they care about in retirement: traveling, volunteering, donating, even starting a new business.
They could also feel secure investing more. Not only could guaranteed income help ease worries about a stock market downturn – 88% of annuity owners say this is the case 4 – it could also give women confidence to introduce more risk into liquid portfolio assets. American women over 60 last year controlled some $8 trillion of liquid wealth assets.5
And perhaps even accumulating more for future generations. It’s reported that over the next decade, $30 trillion in U.S. wealth is expected to be transferred to younger women.6
But for those women who won’t benefit from that wealth transfer, workplace retirement plans that offer a guaranteed income solution can help level the playing field: We found that guaranteed income, combined with a more aggressive asset allocation, can generate 29% more annual spending ability from one’s retirement savings and reduce downside risk by 33%.7
Finally, women could be doing more of what matters. Now. When workers know they’ll have the guaranteed income in the future, they have the time and headspace to focus on the things that aren’t always certain. And we all know that can be a long list.
Just 28% of U.S. women are very or mostly comfortable making investment decisions especially around retirement.8 Guaranteed income is one way toward a more secure financial future – for life.
Women typically live 5.8 years longer than men. However, only 59% of women feel on track to retire, compared to 75% of men. 88% of women report increased confidence in financial health when they have a retirement plan in place.
While there are various saving methods, a guaranteed retirement income solution may be particularly beneficial for women. It can help alleviate concerns about outliving their savings, encourage more investment in liquid assets, and reduce market-related anxieties.
In the U.S., an estimated $30 trillion is expected to be transferred to younger women. For those who may not benefit from this wealth transfer, workplace retirement plans with a guaranteed income solution can help level the playing field.
For The Bid podcast’s International Women’s Day episode, Gargi Pal Chaudhuri and Anne Ackerley sat down for a conversation about women and investing.
It’s hard to overcome the effects of wage gaps: We find that women’s 401(k) retirement balances are often 30% lower than men’s, impacting confidence.
1 BlackRock, Read on Retirement® survey, 2024
2 BlackRock, Read on Retirement® survey, 2024
3 BlackRock, Read on Retirement® survey, 2024
4 BlackRock, Annuity owners value the benefits of lifetime income, 2024
5 McKinsey & Company, Affluent Consumer Survey, 2025
6 McKinsey & Company, Women as the next wave of growth in US wealth management, 2020
7 BlackRock, Read on Retirement survey®, 2024
8 Bank of America Institute, The Rising Wealth of Women, 2024
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