Why fewer women are saving for retirement

(InvestigateTV) — A new Bankrate survey reveals a troubling disparity: fewer women than men are saving for retirement.

This gap could result in women losing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetime.

According to the data, 26% of working women did not contribute to a retirement savings between August 2023 and August 2024. By contrast, only 16% of working men reported not saving for retirement.

Bankrate’s Alex Gailey dug into the numbers to understand why this disparity exists.

“We have to women are working with less. The gender pay gap is certainly at play here. Women earn 82 cents for every dollar a man earns,” she said. “So, the gender pay gap is part of the problem. But in addition to that, there’s a lot of research to suggest women feel misunderstood in the financial world, which may be driving some of their behavior.”

Research shows women are more likely to report lower confidence in their investing skills. But Gailey said this is something that can change with the right approach.

“Start taking action so you can build long-term wealth. There are a couple of things you can do. You can get familiar with investing basics,” she said. “Spend an hour a week learning about investing, and you don’t have to become a pro overnight. I think that’s the biggest challenge for a lot of women. They feel like they need to know everything off the bat, and they really don’t to get started on investing.”

If you have access to a 401(k), contribute enough to get the company match.

“That’s free money,” Gailey said.

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