Less than one-third of women say life is better after retiring

Of the 471 women surveyed by Harris Poll on behalf of Nationwide, only 10 delayed collecting their benefit until 70. They report an average monthly payment of $1,630 (or 59 percent more than if they had taken it early).

Only 29 percent of survey respondents say that life is better after than before retirement; and 28 percent say life is worse. For those who say it's worse, most say it's due to lack of income in retirement and higher than expected cost of living expenses.

Because Social Security benefits are based on average earnings over the best 35 years of a career, women are often penalized for leaving the workforce to raise children or care for a parent, the report states.

Women not working with a financial advisor are nearly three times as likely as those who do to say their Social Security payment was less or much less than expected (37 percent vs. 13 percent), the research adds. But only 33 percent of women work with a financial advisor.