Women continue to face inequality when it comes to retirement readiness, according to T. Rowe Price, which has produced a seven-part series of videos to help women navigate the retirement landscape.
The series, “Women on Retirement: Stories to Empower,” was launched Monday in conjunction with National Retirement Security Week and features 23 women addressing some of the obstacles they have faced in preparing for retirement.
“Women often experience competing priorities and barriers when it comes to their financial future, including lower wages, a longer life expectancy, and fewer years in the workforce compared to their male counterparts,” says T. Rowe Price. The firm, in an earlier study, found that millennial women had significantly less money saved in their 401(k)s than men: a median account balance of $10,600 compared to $22,200 for millennial men.
In addition, T. Rowe Price says women contribute less of their salaries to their 401(k)s than men: a median of 5 percent, compared to 7 percent for men. Women also are less likely to say they feel knowledgeable about money (67 percent) than men (78 percent).
Judith Ward, senior financial planner at T. Rowe Price, says there are tangible steps women can take to improve their retirement prospects, including being actively involved in their financial future and knowing what the options are when it comes to saving for retirement.
Women should have an emergency fund covering three to six months of expenses so that an unexpected emergency will not force them to tap into retirement funds. Women also should set a goal of saving 15 percent of their salary, including the employer match.