The Changing Face of Retirement: Women Balancing Family, Career, and Financial Security

A comfortable retirement is something to which all people rightly aspire. However, as societies are still learning to adjust to increasing life expectancy, with longer periods spent living in retirement, not all people are on track to make this happen. The concern is particularly strong for women, many of whom are inadequately prepared for retirement. 

Now, as the global economy recovers, and progress towards closing gender inequality is slow, we must be sure to encourage women to take charge of their financial futures and drive reform in areas where public policy may further advance equality in society. 

The Changing Face of Retirement: Women Balancing Family, Career, and Financial Security is a research report based on a global retirement survey. It explores the role of the family, government, and the workplace and attempts to answer one basic question: what steps should women take now to achieve a secure and comfortable retirement in the future? The report examines these issues:

• Why do women find it so hard to plan for retirement?
• What retirement aspirations do women hold?
• What are women’s retirement concerns?
• The path to retirement preparedness: retirement planning that works for women.

The report is based on the Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2014 which is collaboration between the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Aegon. The survey encompasses 16,000 workers and retirees, including 7,956 women, in 15 countries: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.