Do men and women still differ in retirement planning?

Previous research has largely viewed retirement and retirement planning as a masculine activity and women have been portrayed as unconcerned and therefore ill-prepared for retirement. However, women’s increasing representation in the workforce means that we must keep examining women’s retirement plans, and the aspects of daily life that support them. Dr Jack Noone looked at the responses provided by 2277 working men and women from the New Zealand Health, Work, and Retirement survey. His findings showed that people’s expectations for their retirement were largely associated with how well financially prepared they were. However, women are still economically disadvantaged compared to men and this meant that they were not so well financially prepared. Retirement and retirement planning is now of greater concern for women who now are more likely to be single and responsible for their own finances. There needs to be a specific focus on women in promotions which encourage and assist financial preparations for the future.

^{Noone, J. H., Stephens, C. & Alpass, F. M. (2010). Do men and women still differ in their retirement planning? Testing a theoretical model of gendered pathways to retirement preparation. Research on Aging, 32(6), 715-738.}

^{Editor: Information on retirement planning at http:/www.sorted.org.nz/life-stages/60plus}