In a new study released Thursday, researchers offered an analysis that modeled the asset values recent retirees would have after a bull market and a bear market. They found that after a bull market, the median value of women’s retirement savings would be $184,600, while men would have $199,400 after a bear market. 

Because men start off with 45% more financial assets than women, according to the study’s data, women were unable to catch up in even the best market conditions. The median retirement savings for women is $185,000, while for men it is $269,000.  

To run their experiment the researchers estimated rates of return for a bear market and a bull market. For the bear market, they used the average return rate of the S&P 500 and 10-year bonds from 1973 to 1979, when the economy was suffering from stagflation. The stand-in for a bull market featured return rates from 2017 to 2022, when the stock market was particularly robust. The analysis also factored in that the seniors in question would withdraw 7.5% of their savings each year to fund their living expenses, as virtually everyone does during retirement. They then applied all those factors to the median savings for women and men. 

The report, commissioned by the Alliance for Lifetime Income, a trade organization of retirement plan servicers, examined the retirement readiness of “peak boomers,” defined as people born between 1959 and 1964. Numbering 30 million, “peak boomers” represent an exceptionally large segment of the population that is poised to retire en masse over the next five years. Whether or not enough of them are financially prepared to retire will have ripple effects across the economy. The more money these peak boomers have saved for retirement, the less strain the U.S.’s social safety net will be under—to say nothing of what kind of quality of life these boomers might expect in retirement. 

“When people retire they don’t just want to sit in a chair all day long, and watch TV or Netflix,” said Lincoln Financial Group CEO Ellen Cooper, during a panel about the report on Thursday. “They actually want to go out and experience life and do the things they weren’t able to do when they were working.”

The pay gap makes retirement harder for women

A broadly bearish market would jeopardize even relatively well prepared peak boomers, according to the research. How much the retirement accounts of men and women grow in different market conditions illustrates how long-lasting the effects of a lifetime of pay inequities can be, and how difficult to overcome. Aside from having $84,000 less in their median savings accounts, women fare worse than men across all asset classes that can contribute to a comfortable retirement. They owned homes that were 5% less valuable and got Social Security benefits that were 25% lower than men’s. 

Helping women build better nest eggs in retirement requires addressing the root causes first, said Caroline Feeney, Prudential executive vice president and head of U.S. businesses. 

They include the gender pay gap and a financial industry geared primarily toward men. As of March 2023, women earned 82 cents for every dollar that men did, according to data from Pew Research. 

“This pay gap translates into lower savings—that’s a reality,” Feeney said during the panel. 

She added that some research has shown women on average have a lower risk tolerance when it comes to investing. 

Women can face higher expenses during retirement

Feeney’s point was once considered a standard assumption in financial circles. However, in recent years that assertion has become more layered. A recent study from the Harvard Business Review found that when it came to impact investing, women actually exhibited a higher risk tolerance than men. Other research indicates women are more judicious, which can get reduced to simply being risk-averse. There’s also more evidence pointing to the fact that women feel more cautious about investing because they feel as if they have fewer resources and advice available to them. 

The financial industry’s reputation as a boys’ club, along with the stereotype that women are less money-savvy than men, has meant they’re often underserved when it comes to investment advice. That makes it harder for women to find the right expertise than many men, who also may not be financial experts. Two-thirds of men say they have easy access to high-quality investment products compared with just 39% of women, according to a study from financial planner Principal. 

“You pull all of that together, of course, it makes it far more difficult for women to be in a position to live a secure financial retirement,” Feeney said. 

To make matters worse, women not only have less money in retirement but they can have more expenses as well because they live longer and are more likely to be a caregiver. Most Americans do a poor job of estimating how long their retirement will last. That shortfall only gets worsened when women have to care for someone else beyond just themselves, even in old age. More than 75% of caregivers are women, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. Even working women who are caregivers can take a hit to their retirement, because they have an added financial burden (often on an already lower salary), which means they have less to sock away for their golden years. 

To mitigate the difficulties of preparing for retirement, Feeney has simple advice: ask for help. “There are no silly questions,” she said.