Women investors have grown more uneasy about their retirement, as market volatility continues and inflation remains top of mind, according to a report by Nationwide.

The company’s eighth annual “Advisor Authority” study, sponsored by its Nationwide Retirement Institute, found that more than 40% of women believe the U.S. is in a financial crisis, with another 24% believing that one is looming.

Furthermore, women are feeling discouraged about retirement preparedness. The report found that nearly nine in 10 women (87%) said that no matter what they do to manage their finances, they still feel blindsided by events outside their control. There’s been a double-digit percentage point increase in those feeling that way: Only 76% voiced that sentiment in 2022. 

“It’s important to recognize and consider the unique retirement challenges facing women,” said Ann Bair, the senior vice president of financial services marketing for Nationwide, in a statement. “We live longer and typically need to fund more years in retirement than men. Women also tend to have lower savings due to historical wage gaps and more time out of the workforce.”

The sting of inflation is significantly affecting investors’ retirement plans, the report said; Nationwide noted that more than half of non-retired women investors (54%) believe that inflation poses the most immediate challenge to their retirement portfolio. Thirty-eight percent of the women in the survey also cited economic recession as a disruptor, while 21% pointed to market volatility.

Needless to say, they have low confidence in their ability to retire. Those who said they cannot afford to retire at all increased to 15%, up from 11% in 2022.

Given their retirement savings ahead of retirement, 84% of non-retired women investors said they would need to supplement their income, and nearly half (46%) indicated they would continue working in some capacity in retirement out of necessity to supplement their income. Additionally, 34% of non-retired women investors said they would likely be forced to return to the workforce because their savings are inadequate.

The good news, Nationwide said, is that non-retired women are making changes to their money habits to combat economic pressures. Thirty-one percent of the women surveyed noted that they are avoiding unnecessary expenses over the next 12 months to prioritize saving more for retirement, while 28% said they were managing their investments more conservatively. And 82% had vowed not to dip into their retirement savings prematurely because they wanted to be able to accommodate the rising cost of living.

Many are also turning to financial advisors for help. The report found that more than half of women surveyed (52%) work with an advisor or financial professional in 2023, while only 45% did in 2022. “Nearly all women with an advisor (97%) say working with one helps them to feel more confident in their ability to make good decisions, even during a crisis—up from 88% in 2022,” the report said. 

Suzanne Ricklin, vice president of retention and sales for Nationwide Retirement Solutions, noted that “the best way for women to take control of their financial future is to work with an advisor or financial professional to develop a long-term plan and stick to it.” She added that “while the current environment may make it harder to visualize long-term success, history tells us that creating a solid plan and avoiding shortsighted investing decisions in times like these is usually the most effective course of action.”

Advisors, the report noted, are educating investors, and using various retirement solutions to protect clients’ savings. It said 87% of advisors are using annuities as a solution. To a lesser extent the advisors said they were using Social Security, fixed-income ladders and bond ladders, and dividend-yielding stocks. Advisors further indicated that they will continue to incorporate annuities into their clients’ portfolios, with nearly three-fourths (61%) planning to adopt strategies or annuities to help protect clients from outliving their savings. 

“Annuities continue to be a great protection solution for many retirement portfolios, and we see them gaining steam in the current pre-recessionary market,” Ricklin said. “Annuities combined with proper investment diversification can help clients rest easier in turbulent moments like this and in the future when adverse conditions may return.”

The “Advisor Authority” research was conducted online within the U.S. by the Harris Poll on behalf of Nationwide in January. It included 511 advisors and financial professionals and 789 investors age 18 or over with investable assets of more than $10,000.