JOIN USAffluent women worry about outliving money
The vast majority of affluent baby boomers believe their retirement will be more active and prosperous than that of their parents, the quarterly survey found.
It also found 70 per cent of respondents expect to work, at least part time, to fund that lifestyle.
The survey polled 1,000 Americans with at least $250,000 in investable assets.
Affluent women, in particular, expect to keep very busy in the retirement. Some 86 per cent plan to travel, compared with two-thirds of men. Nearly two-thirds of women also plan to be involved in their communities, compared with 43 per cent of men.
“Women are leaning towards an active retirement,” Lyle LaMothe, head of US wealth management for Merrill Lynch, said at a presentation for journalists. “A lot of fellows just want to find the couch and sit on it for a while,” LaMothe said.
Women are also more worried about the rising costs of healthcare and whether they will have enough money to last them through their lifetime.
About 70 per cent of the women surveyed said they worried about rising healthcare costs, compared with 57 per cent of men. Similarly, 63 per cent of women were worried about their money running out, compared with 52 per cent of men. Merrill Lynch said the survey also revealed that the majority of respondents did not understand the impact of investing conservatively.
Nearly half of the respondents described themselves as “conservative” investors, and two-thirds of them believed that being conservative helped to shield them from losses.
Only a quarter acknowledged that they might also be giving up opportunities for growth during stronger markets.
The most conservative investors were also the youngest group surveyed. Nearly 60 per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 described themselves as conservative.
Many people in this group lived through two of the worst bear markets in history just as they were starting their careers, and it has made them wary of investing in the markets, said LaMothe.