A greater number of women are worried about the prospects for their retirement than men, a new study has shown.

Figures published by financial services provider the Hartford have shown that some 54 per cent of 45 to 54-year-old women are either somewhat or very concerned about how they will see through their non-working years. Meanwhile, 45 per cent of men of the same age said they were similarly concerned.

The group in part attributed the heightened sense of anxiety about retirement among women to an ever increasing involvement in family finances in addition to juggling their job with family commitments. Furthermore, the Hartford insisted that many women are more financially aware than their male counterparts. Indeed, figures from the group show that women have a more acute sense of the economic difficulties posed by more immediate problems such as the credit crunch. Of those asked, 61 per cent of non-retired women said that the current financial climate has led them to worry more about their present day economic stability than their future ability to provide for themselves in their retirement. However, of the men questioned, 50 per cent said they were anxious about such immediate problems.

For those who are struggling to put money aside in gloomy market conditions, taking out a low-rate loan for the purposes of debt consolidation may prove an effective way to manage repayment responsibilities more effectively. By spreading out repayments over a longer period of time, people may find they have more money left over at the end of each month, allowing them to make more sizeable contributions to pension or savings schemes.

Indeed, doing so may of particular interest to the 26 per cent of women who said they were worried about their ability to live off their pension once they have stopped working.

Commenting on the findings, Michael Rudge, UK managing director at Hartford Life Limited, called upon independent financial advisers to do more to make sure that women were offered support in making important monetary decisions.

“While the research shows that women are more worried than men about some aspects of retirement, their worries are not unfounded. Women are paying more attention now than ever before on how to save but, especially in the 45 to 54 age bracket, often have so many pressures on both their time and money that they can find it difficult to plan for retirement. It is never too late to start planning and an independent financial adviser can really help give tailored, practical advice on how best to provide for their individual retirement needs,” he concluded.

In other recent findings, a consumer confidence poll published by GfK NOP in July showed that with perceptions of the current economic environment, women and those over the age of 50 were particularly concerned about their ability to weather the oncoming financial storm. For those who have been unable to do so in recent months, taking out a debt consolidation loan may prove an effective way to get their head above water financially.

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