Women and retirement: Planning with confidence

Women are often familiar with checklists. Whether written down or kept mentally, there always seems to be another task to tackle.

One checklist that often gets overlooked is the one tied to financial goals. It’s important to stay on top of our progress throughout the year to make sure we’re on track. And while this is an important undertaking for everyone, it is particularly important for women – especially when it comes to retirement savings.

Women face multiple obstacles 

Despite significant gains in education and workforce participation, women continue to lag men when it comes to retirement preparedness. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, women generally have lower retirement account balances, receive lower Social Security benefits, and own fewer financial assets than men. Recent research also shows women have approximately 30% less retirement savings than men on average.¹

In addition, women have a longer life expectancy compared to men, which means they need to save more to cover those extra years in retirement. Recent data show that women who reach age 65 can expect to live an average of nearly 22 additional years, increasing the need for careful retirement planning and long-term income strategies.²

But life expectancy isn’t the only factor. The U.S. Census Bureau found that the divorce rate among adults 50 years and older has risen over the last several years. When one spouse leaves the marital home, a significant portion of the couple’s assets may leave as well, which can put a retirement plan into disarray. The same is true when someone loses a spouse and goes from two incomes to one, or maybe even none.

The gender pay gap also continues to affect retirement readiness. In 2024, women earned approximately 83 cents for every dollar earned by men, reducing lifetime earnings and limiting the amount available for retirement contributions.²

Women remain more likely than men to interrupt their careers or reduce work hours to care for children, aging parents, or other family members. Family caregiving continues to be a significant financial challenge, with women representing approximately 60% of family caregivers in the United States.³

A checklist to get – and stay – on track

The bottom line is that women are forced to adjust throughout their lives to account for these gender differences so they can stay on track. At the same time, a theme we’ve seen in studies time and again is that women aren’t feeling confident when it comes to investing. Recent research found that nearly six in 10 working women do not feel on track with their retirement savings, even though women often demonstrate disciplined, long-term investing behaviors.⁴

So, what should female investors have on their financial checklists to make sure they’re on track to reach their retirement goals?

Here are a few ideas:

Get organized. If we’ve learned anything since 2020, it’s impossible to see what curveballs life is going to throw our way. Creating a financial records organizer that allows you to assess your entire financial picture can help alleviate stress and set the stage for the following year. So, what is a financial records organizer? Essentially, it’s any sort of filing system that is used to store copies of all important financial documents that can help families manage their affairs in the case of death, disability, serious illness, or even disasters like fires and floods.

Create a budget. A budget is essential to helping female investors be in a position to afford the life they want not only now, but also during their retirement years. But first, they need to create a baseline of where they are now – a simple snapshot of the money coming in and the money going out over the course of a year. A budget will also help women establish a savings benchmark for things like paying down high-interest debt and saving for retirement.

Establish an emergency fund. One very important goal that everyone should have on their financial checklist is setting aside money in an emergency fund. We suggest having six months to a year of living expenses saved in this fund. If that seems overwhelming, a good place to start is to set a goal of saving $1,000 and then building from there (you may be surprised to see how quickly it adds up). Setting up a separate account for emergency savings also means there’s less temptation to touch that money unless absolutely necessary.

Pay down debt. It’s important to have an idea of the four main types of debt that someone might have (credit card, student loan, mortgage, and car payments) so that a plan can be put into place to pay it down. Some ideas for reducing one’s debt burden include increasing payments, consolidating and refinancing loans, signing up for autopayments, and exploring different repayment options. It’s also important to review credit reports and credit scores because they can have an impact on the interest rate paid when taking on new debt, especially in today’s higher interest rate environment.

Save for retirement. Women should take stock of their current retirement savings and determine whether it will be enough to support them through their retirement years. Of course, that’s much easier said than done because it depends entirely on their individual situation and raises multiple questions that may not have easy answers. For example, what sort of lifestyle do they want to have during retirement? Where will they live? Will they have a part-time job? Are there any current or potential health issues they need to consider? It may not even be possible to know the answers to these questions yet, and that’s okay. Still, having a general idea now can help set the stage for a more comfortable retirement later.

For starters, women should contribute enough to their workplace retirement plan to receive the full employer match whenever possible. They may also consider increasing their savings rate each year, even if only by a small amount. For 2026, individuals can contribute up to $24,500 to a 401(k), 403(b), or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan. Individuals age 50 and older can contribute an additional $8,000, while those ages 60 to 63 may be eligible to contribute up to $11,250 in catch-up contributions under SECURE 2.0 provisions. IRA contribution limits increased to $7,500, with an additional $1,100 catch-up contribution available for those age 50 and older.⁵

Prepare for future health care needs. One of the biggest, yet often forgotten, expenses during retirement is health care, so this needs to be part of the retirement planning process. Health care remains one of the largest expenses retirees face. According to Fidelity’s latest Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, a 65-year-old retiree in 2025 can expect to spend approximately $172,500 on health care and medical expenses throughout retirement, excluding long-term care costs.⁶ While Medicare helps cover many expenses, retirees remain responsible for premiums, deductibles, copays, dental care, vision care, and other out-of-pocket costs.

There are steps that can be taken today to help mitigate the burden of these costs during retirement. One such step is contributing to a Health Savings Account (HSA) if your company offers an HSA-eligible health plan. HSAs provide a way to set aside pre-tax money for qualified health care expenses that might occur in retirement, such as copays, deductibles, and coinsurance, among others. As long as HSA withdrawals are used to cover qualified health care expenses in retirement, they will be tax- and penalty-free.

Small steps add up

While progress has been made, women continue to face unique challenges when preparing for retirement. Longer life expectancies, caregiving responsibilities, and lower lifetime earnings can create obstacles to building long-term financial security.

The good news is that small, consistent actions can make a meaningful difference. Regularly reviewing finances, increasing retirement savings when possible, managing debt, building emergency savings, and planning for future health care needs can help women strengthen their financial foundation and move closer to achieving their retirement goals.

The information contained herein is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice. Circumstances may change over time so it may be appropriate to evaluate strategy with the assistance of a financial professional. Federal and state laws and regulations are complex and subject to change. Laws of a particular state or laws that may be applicable to a particular situation may have an impact on the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of the information provided. Janus Henderson does not have information related to and does not review or verify particular financial or tax situations, and is not liable for use of, or any position taken in reliance on, such information.