24 Facts About Women's Retirement Outlook

Women have made tremendous progress in recent decades in terms educational attainment and access to career opportunities. Yet, despite these advances, they continue to be a greater risk than men of not achieving a financially secure retirement.

Over the course of their working years, women face headwinds including the gender pay gap, time out of the workforce for parenting and caregiving, and fewer employer and government retirement benefits. These headwinds inhibit women's ability to save and invest for the future. Moreover, women tend to live longer than men which requires they save for an even longer retirement.

24 Facts About Women’s Retirement Outlook, a collaboration between Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS) and Transamerica Institute, illustrates factors that are jeopardizing the retirement outlook of women workers who are juggling competing priorities, navigating work-life balance, and preparing for the future. The survey report also offers comparisons with men.

This report marks the 19th consecutive year that our organization has published research that illuminates women’s retirement-related risks and recommends actions to help mitigate them. The goal of the research is two-fold: 1) to raise awareness of the retirement risks that women are facing, and 2) highlight opportunities for women to take greater control of their finances and their future.

The report is based on findings from the 24th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey conducted in 2023 including more than 5,700 workers of for-profit companies.