Men Far More Secure About Retiring

By comparison, 33% of women said they were “confident” or “very confident” they would be able to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement, according to the survey of 6,360 retirement plan participants conducted by OneAmerica subsidiary American United Life Insurance Co. Accordingly, 44% of women said they were “not sure” they would be able to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement, but only 36% of men shared this sense of doubt.

“These findings help underscore how important it is  for plan sponsors to understand where the gaps are in perception, education and confidence in order to target different groups of employees with important messages that help them to prepare for retirement,” said Marsha Whitehead, vice president of marketing communications for the retirement services division of OneAmerica.

Whitehead added that OneAmerica is sharing the results of the survey with its plan sponsor clients to further interest in a communications program it developed for different subset participants in retirement plans. Women, in particular, need additional education on savings and retirement planning, she said.

—Lee Barney