Caught in a financial (& family-first) vortex: Women likely to lag in retirement savings

American women are more likely to manage their retirement savings on their own and less likely to access professional education and advice for help, despite wanting expert guidance, according to a new report from Goldman Sachs.

The report, “Navigating the Financial Vortex: Women & Retirement Security,” illustrates that Americans, particularly women, are facing a financial vortex of competing financial priorities from life events, family issues and sudden emergencies throughout their working years, and the vortex can impact their retirement savings.

The report found that women are more likely than men to manage their savings on their own (69% to 63%) and less likely to leverage educational and advice resources. However, women actually have a stronger desire for education and advice – 46% considered it very or extremely important to receive financial advice in comparison to 40% of men – but they do not find it adequately accessible.

“The difference in utilization of these resources highlights the gap in retirement advisors being able to meet women where they are,” says Chris Ceder, senior retirement strategist at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in a press release. “Personalized saving and investing strategies can enhance confidence in long-term success, particularly for women.”

The report provides invaluable insight for advisors and employers into the type of guidance women are seeking. Women most frequently cited needing advice in understanding how long savings would last (34%), how to adjust retirement savings if it’s not on track (33%), retirement saving strategy, such as how much to save (32%) and generating retirement income (32%).

“Women tend to focus on the key issues necessary for them to build a secure, successful, long-term retirement,” says Candice Tse, global head of Strategic Advisory Solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “This highlights that, when providing advisory services for women, it is important to be clear, direct and stay focused on their core needs.”

Related: Gender wealth gap: Women save just 75% of what men do for retirement

Women had a range of primary concerns about preparing for retirement, including having sufficient savings (51%), inflation (48%), leaving behind a steady paycheck (48%) and health care needs (41%).

Of retired women who manage their own retirement savings, 63% reported stress or anxiety about the task, compared to 52% of men.

“Women generally feel more anxious about their retirement savings – a concern that our report finds often can be warranted,” says Padi Raphael, global head of third party distribution at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “Personalized education and advisory services can help plan sponsors to support their diverse employee populations in inclusive ways, addressing specific retirement savings needs.”

The report noted that women point to employer-sponsored retirement plans as being among their top sources for financial help.

“The value of trust and connection cannot be understated in retirement planning,” according to the report. “Plan sponsors can provide retirement planning resources around caregiving, leaving the workforce, income generation in retirement and more by offering services that support retirement savers based on their unique situation.”

The strain of inflation and market volatility was apparent in the survey results. In particular, women were more likely than men to report decreasing their overall spending (45% to 37%) and having to withdraw funds from emergency savings (24% to 17%). In addition, 50% of women said their retirement savings are behind schedule vs. 35% of men, and just 14% of women said they were very confident of meeting their retirement saving goals.

“Women more often than men are forced to work part-time, spend time out of the workforce to care for young children and elderly family members, and juggle other financial priorities during their careers,” Tse says. “This can make their journey to retirement more difficult and incredibly personal.”

Meanwhile, 61% of women said they retired earlier than planned, and only 15% of those women said they retired because they had sufficient savings – others cited health reasons (29%), to take care of family (16%) or that their job was no longer available (15%).

“These statistics reveal the deeply human nature of the decisions that at times require women to prioritize family, caregiving or health-related issues over their financial futures,” says Jennifer Huisking, vice president at Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management.  “For these women, financial confidence comes from having clarity about their financial resources and acting where they have control. A financial advisor can help them take a full inventory of what they earn, spend, save and owe and create a plan to define their priorities and move towards the outcomes they seek.”