Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender investors face several unique challenges in preparing for retirement, including those stemming from a lack of federal marriage and inheritance rights.
Yet in a recent nationwide Wells Fargo retirement survey, 61% of LGBT non-retirees said they felt confident they would have enough saved by the time they retired to live the lifestyle they wanted throughout their retirement, significantly higher than the 53% of the general population that says the same.
Despite this confidence, 36% of LGBT non-retirees said they would need to work during retirement in order to afford their lifestyle, compared with 41% of the general population.
The median amount LGBT non-retirees have saved for retirement was only 17% of what they expected to actually need. They believed they would need to save at least $900,000 in order to retire, and had saved on average about $150,000.
However, 62% of non-retired LGBT's surveyed said they had not increased their retirement savings allocation in the past year.
Only about a quarter of the LGBT respondents currently had a detailed written plan for their finances in retirement.
Fifty-four percent of all LGBT respondents cited being recognized as equal citizens by society and the law as the most important reason for legalizing gay marriage, while 19% said having legal rights and medical decision-making on behalf of one's partner was most important. Only 7% said legalizing gay marriage was not important to them.
