Women and Wealth: Preparing for Retirement
Women and Wealth
Women are becoming one of the most powerful forces shaping the future of wealth. Today, women are earning more, launching businesses at record rates, and taking a more active role in investing and financial planning.
As a result, women are increasingly controlling a larger share of global wealth. Financial planning designed specifically for women can help address key considerations such as longer life expectancies, career flexibility, caregiving responsibilities, and long-term financial independence.
At Edelman Wealth Management, we help women build thoughtful financial strategies that support their goals—from growing wealth and investing with confidence to protecting their families and planning for retirement.
Women and Wealth Statistics
Women’s financial influence continues to grow rapidly. Consider these important trends:
- Women control about $18 trillion in U.S. wealth today.
- By 2030, women are expected to control roughly $34 trillion in U.S. assets.
- Women now represent about one-third of global wealth holders.
- 71% of women participate in the stock market, reflecting rapidly growing investment engagement.
- Women’s wealth globally grew more than 50% between 2018 and 2023.
These trends highlight an important shift: women are playing an increasingly significant role in investing, wealth building, and financial decision-making.
Why Financial Planning for Women Matters
Women often experience financial journeys that differ from men. Factors such as longer life expectancy, career pauses, and caregiving responsibilities can influence retirement planning and long-term wealth strategies.
A personalized financial plan can help women:
- Build and grow investment portfolios
- Plan for retirement with confidence
- Protect family wealth through insurance and estate strategies
- Navigate major life transitions such as divorce, widowhood, or business ownership
Working with a trusted financial advisor can help ensure these strategies align with both short-term priorities and long-term financial goals.
Barriers to Saving and Investing
Despite progress toward financial planning and saving, women often face challenges regarding their financial security. Women need to recognize these barriers to saving and investing and prepare by making informed decisions for themselves. Here are a few of the unique challenges women face when saving for retirement1:
Women live longer: The average life expectancy for women is age 80, and she can expect to live another 20 years in retirement, on average, if she retires at 67.
Women are more likely to live in poverty: Women age 65 or older are 43% more likely than men to live on an income below the poverty level, and 65% of the elderly poor are women.
Women are more likely to work part-time: 30% of female workers are part-time workers with no retirement savings benefits.
Women earn less than men: In 2023, women earned 83.6% of what men earned of both full- and part-time workers.
Women care for others: More than 40% of women are caregivers, and mothers are more likely to reduce their work hours or step away from employment to care for their children. Often, they provide care to other adult family members.
When our parents retired, living to 75 amounted to a nice long life, and Social Security was often supplemented by a pension. The Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates that today's average 67-year-old woman will live to age 88. Given these projections, it appears that a retirement of 20 years or longer might be in your future.2
Are You Prepared for a 20-Year Retirement?
How about a 30-year or even 40-year retirement? Don't laugh; it could happen. The Society of Actuaries predicts that an average healthy woman that reaches age 65 has a 48% chance of living past 90, and a 26% chance of living to be older than 95.3
Here Are Some Ways You Can Better Prepare:
Start with Good Questions
How can you draw retirement income from what you've saved? How might you create other income streams to complement Social Security? And what are some ways you can protect your retirement savings and other financial assets?
Enlist a Financial Professional
The right person can give you some good ideas, especially one who understands the challenges women face in saving for retirement. These may include income inequality or time out of the workforce due to childcare or eldercare. It could also mean helping you maintain financial equilibrium in the wake of divorce or the death of a spouse.
Invest Strategically
If you are in your fifties, you have less time to make back any big investment losses than you once did. So, protecting what you have may be a priority. At the same time, the possibility of a retirement lasting up to 30 or 40 years will require a good understanding of your risk tolerance and overall goals.
Participate in Your Employer’s Retirement Savings Plan
If you work for an employer that offers a retirement savings plan, participate in it. Even if working part-time, you may be able to participate. Contribute at least enough to ensure you receive the employer’s matching contributions.
Set Up and Contribute to a Self-Directed Retirement Plan
The more you save at an earlier age into a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA, the better prepared you’ll be for retirement. While some rules apply based on your income and if your spouse contributes to a retirement savings plan, a financial professional can help determine which is appropriate for your situation.
Prepare for Emergencies and Have a Backup Plan
Circumstances like divorce, death, or injury can prevent retiring as planned. Setting up an emergency savings account with three to six months of expenses, life insurance, disability insurance, a budget, and a plan to reduce your debt can help ensure you have enough left to fund your retirement savings in an emergency.
Consider Extended Care Coverage
Women have longer average life expectancies than men and may require significant periods of eldercare. Medicare is no substitute for extended care insurance; it only covers a few weeks of nursing home care, and that may only apply under special circumstances. Extended care coverage can provide financial relief if the need arises.4
Claim Social Security Benefits Carefully
If your career and health permit, delaying Social Security can be a wise move. If you wait until full retirement age to claim your benefits, you could receive larger Social Security payments as a result. For every year you wait to claim Social Security past your full retirement age up until age 70, your monthly payments get about 8% larger.5
Retire With a Strategy
As you face retirement, a financial professional who understands your unique goals can help you design an approach that can serve you well for years to come.
Consider the Possibility of Delaying Your Retirement
A 2023 report indicates that eight in ten women are taking steps to ensure continued work5:
- 59% are staying healthy so they can work longer
- 50% are keeping their job skills up to date
- 23% are networking and meeting new people
- 22% are taking classes to learn new skills
- 18% are scoping out the employment market and opportunities available
- 16% are obtaining a new degree, certification, or professional designation
- 14% are attending virtual conferences
A Financial Professional Can Help
If you're a woman concerned about saving for retirement or have questions about your unique situation, give us a call. Our Team understands the unique challenges women face, and we’re passionate about helping women just like you plan for a comfortable retirement. Contact us and let’s get started.
Women and Retirement FAQs
How much should a woman save for retirement?The amount a woman should save for retirement depends on factors such as income, lifestyle goals, and expected retirement age. Because women often live longer than men, many financial professionals recommend saving enough to support 25–30 years of retirement. Working with a financial advisor can help create a personalized savings and investment strategy designed for long-term financial security.
Do women invest differently than men?
Research shows that women often take a more long-term and disciplined approach to investing. Studies have found that women tend to trade less frequently and stay focused on long-term goals, which can contribute to strong investment outcomes over time.
What is the best investment strategy for women?
The best investment strategy for women is typically one that focuses on long-term growth, diversification, and consistent investing. A balanced portfolio that aligns with personal goals, risk tolerance, and retirement timelines can help women build and protect wealth over time.
1. Courtesy of Fresh Finance
2. SSA.gov, 2023
3. LongevityIllustrator.org, 2023. Life expectancy estimates assume average health, non-smoker, and a retirement age of 65.
4. Medicare.gov, 2023
5. SSA.gov, 2023
The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG, LLC, is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright 2025 FMG Suite.
