As market volatility and uncertainty continue to plague investors in 2023, the latest research from Nationwide finds women investors are more fearful of a recession today than in 2022.
Nationwide’s eight annual Advisor Authority survey, powered by the Nationwide Retirement Institute, finds over 40% of women believe the U.S. is currently in a financial crisis, with another 24% believing we are approaching one. Additionally, only about half (45%) of women have a strategy in place to protect their assets against market risk in 2023, and 87% believe they will be blindsided by “outside events” that can affect their finances.
“It’s important to recognize and consider the unique retirement challenges facing women,” said Ann Bair, senior vice president of Financial Services Marketing for Nationwide, in the research. “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 current economic environment has women feeling stressed about their future, but I’m encouraged to see many are taking proactive steps to seek guidance and create a plan.”
The Nationwide research shows the current market environment can have a negative impact to women’s retirement portfolios. According to the findings, top immediate challenges to women’s retirement include inflation (54%), economic recession (38%), and market volatility (21%). As a result, 84% of women say they will need to supplement their income based on their retirement savings, 46% believe they will have to take a phased retirement approach, and 34% expect to return to the workforce at some point due to inadequate savings.
Others in the research believe they won’t be able to retire at all. Twenty percent of non-retired women surveyed believe it’s unlikely they will retire—a 7% increase from 2022. Fifteen percent of non-retired women also say they cannot afford to retire at all, up from 11% in 2022.
In response to this ongoing uncertainty, Nationwide research finds 31% of women are avoiding unnecessary expenses over the next 12 months, 28% are managing their investments at a more conservative pace, and 12% are planning to move to a new location with a lower cost of living. Eighty-two percent of non-retired women said they would not withdraw money from their retirement savings to afford the growing cost of living.
Not all findings had bleak outlooks, however. Slightly more women than men anticipate a short, shallow recession that begins and eases up gradually, with men nearly 10% more likely to expect a prolonged, severe downturn followed by stagflation and instability.
Additionally, women investors are increasingly turning to financial professionals for help with their retirement portfolios, finds Nationwide. Over half (52%) of women investors are working with an advisor, and 97% say their advisor has helped them feel financially confident in their ability to make good financial decisions.
Additional findings from Nationwide’s Advisor Authority survey can be found here.
SEE ALSO:
- Women Advisors Prioritize Helping People Over Compensation
- Women Feel ‘Stress’ Over Finances While Men are ‘Hopeful’
- More Women Concerned on Ability to Retire than Men
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with over six years of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. Amanda received her degree in journalism and government and politics at St. John’s University. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado with her partner. In her free time, Amanda enjoys running, cooking, and watching the latest drama show.
