At a Glance | July 16, 2020 When Do Women Retire? Expectation vs. Reality AGE AT RETIREMENT Comparing the Age That Women Expect to Retire With the Age Retirees Actually Retire Women of different marital By Marital Status statuses face a range of Retire at Ages = 62 Retire at = 63 Expect Never to Retire retirement challenges. Retire Before 60 60–62 63–65 66–69 70+ One of these challenges is a 32% Expectation 52% 16% All disconnect between when 62% Reality 38% women expect to retire and the reality of when they do. 38% Expectation 50% 12% Married 63% Reality 37% Divorced and never-married women workers were more likely to expect never 14% Expectation 65% 21% Divorced to retire than married women 70% Reality 30% workers. 33% Expectation 46% 21% Never-Married 70% Reality 30% REVIEWING RATIOS Ratio of Retired Women’s Actual Retirement Ages to Workers’ Expected Retirement Ages Women underestimate how By Marital Status soon they will retire. Nearly six Retire Before 60 60–62 63–65 66–69 70+ times as many divorced women All 2.2 1.1 0.9 0.6 0.3 were retired by age 60 compared with divorced 4 ??13 6 8 women workers who expect to ?f Married 2.2 1.1 0.9 0.6 0.3 be retired that early. 3 ??11 9 6 Divorced 5.9 3.2 0.4 0.9 0.1 More than three times as many divorced women retired at ages 1 ?32 4 9 60–62 as divorced women Never-Married 2.4 59 1.0 0.7 0.4 0 workers expect to retire at those ages. This indicates a 0 ??10 7 4 24 need to bridge the gap in understanding between the expected and likely retirement ages for this cohort of women. SOURCE: Craig Copeland, “Retirement Confidence Survey: Attitudes Toward Retirement by Women of Different Marital Statuses,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 507 (Employee Benefit Research Institute, June 8, 2020). © 2020 EBRI This report is copyrighted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). You may copy, print, or download this report solely for personal and noncommercial use, provided that all hard copies retain any and all copyright and other applicable notices contained therein, and you may cite or quote small portions of the report provided that you do so verbatim and with proper citation. Any use beyond the scope of the foregoing requires EBRI’s prior express permission. For permissions, please contact EBRI at permissions@ebri.org. ?22 22