Although men and women are both reluctant to talk about Medicare and health care planning with their financial advisors, women are more likely to be worried about it, a survey released Wednesday by Allsup found.
Allsup surveyed 1,000 people over 65 for the report and found women are much less confident about their ability to pay for health care in retirement. Just 55% of women say they're confident about how much they've saved, compared with 70% of men.
"Women are more likely to live longer, have fewer financial resources and rely on Social Security as their primary source of income in retirement, so their financial risks are greater as they age," Mary Dale Walters, senior vice president of Allsup Medicare Advisor, Allsup's Medicare selection service, said in a statement. "Living longer usually means greater health care expenses in retirement, such as more premiums."
When asked to name specific retirement concerns, 63% of women said they were concerned about the future of Medicare coverage, compared with 59% of men. Paying for long-term care (46%) and health care (43%), and outliving their retirement funds (40%) were other major concerns.