62% of women don't think they can retire because of inflation

Feeling financially secure has become more challenging due to inflation, and it's impacting women both today and well into their futures. 

Research from insurance company Nationwide found that 62% of women are planning to retire later than they'd hoped, or don't think they can retire at all because of inflation, compared to 47% of men. This is a significant jump from 2021 rates, when just 25% of women planned to adjust their retirement expectations. 

"It's been a crazy year coming out of COVID and the workplace has changed so much," says Amelia Dunlap, vice president of retirement solutions marketing at Nationwide. "We're seeing some pretty alarming numbers around retirement confidence, and to see that get worse year-after-year because of volatility in the market, that was surprising." 

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Women typically fall behind men when it comes to their retirement readiness — factors like the gender pay gap, breaks to raise children and a shorter tenure in the workforce impact the amount women are able to save by retirement age. Research from TIAA Institute found that men contributed $8,271 annually to their 401(k) in 2020, compared to $5,994 for women. 

While it's important to look out for your future self, women are filling in the financial gaps for others, too. Nationwide found that 15% of women who are delaying retirement have said supporting a family member or friend is one reason they're unable to save for themselves. Dunlap says women may take a more practical and immediate view of their finances than men, especially during times of financial strain, making them more likely to pause retirement contributions to make ends meet at home. 

"This is me playing armchair psychologist, but I think that women can have a more realistic view of what might be needed and are internalizing that even more than men are," she says. "We don't see a lot of employers looking at gender differences, but it's a really great practice for employers to look at their plan and provide different education or seminars that may be more geared to the unique challenges of women." 

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Dunlap says offering a guaranteed income option in a retirement plan could be especially beneficial for female employees — these programs would automatically disperse 401(k) savings as a regular income source during retirement. Employers should also educate employees on solutions that are available outside of the workplace: for example, the recently passed Secure Act 2.0 provides emergency savings programs, student loan repayment benefits and other financial assistance that could help all employees — regardless of gender — get out from under a financial hardship and refocus on retirement. 

"There are challenges that we know employees are facing that often get in the way of retirement saving," Dunlap says. "Even in advance of these provisions and any solutions you have in place, you can always lean on education — create a budget, do the emergency savings so that there's a balance of immediate financial needs and those 20 to 30 years out." 

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Inflation and market volatility will come and go, Dunlap says. It's important to learn how to ride the wave without upending long-term goals. Employers can offer a supportive hand with education and resources so employees aren't figuring it all out on their own. 

"We expect the first half of the year to continue to be challenging in terms of market volatility, and when markets are volatile, people get scared, they take their money out, they stop contributing, they reduce their contributions, they take withdrawals," Dunlap says. "Make sure you're providing the right education and information so employees can keep the long-term view in mind and not make a knee-jerk change to retirement plans."