Do you worry that you might outlive your savings and investments? 

National Seniors Australia and Challenger asked that question in repeated National Seniors Social Surveys over the years. 

In a 2020 research report, we homed in on which people were most likely to worry about this. 

Unsurprisingly, people with less than $500,000 in savings, people whose main source of retirement income was (or was expected to be) the Age Pension, and those not yet retired, were much more likely to worry. 

The research also revealed a big gender gap, when considering the dominant gender binary. Women were 47% more likely to worry than men.  

That was after statistically removing the effects of the other three factors, so women’s likelihood of worrying is not accounted for by their lower savings levels or higher pension dependence. 

However, those points are also true. Historical inequality in earnings and working patterns mean women, on average, have less opportunity to accumulate savings, and less reason to feel secure in their earning potential. 

Historical inequality has also meant women spend more time on average in unpaid caring work, with the same effect. 

Women also live longer than men on average, so they have to fund more years of life. 

To find out more, read the full report Retirement Income Worry: Who worries and why? at nationalseniors.com.au/research/reports.