Women plan for retirement differently than men

The following was written by Jennie L. Phipps and posted at Bankrate.com on Sunday, January 29, 2012 and I thought it was interesting because as a man, I do not think about retirement in these ways and maybe I should.

Ameriprise Financial has been studying that truth, and it has come up with at least five ways women plan for retirement differently than men. None of them should surprise you.

1. Women want to stay close to family. Forty percent of women say proximity to family is a key factor in determining where they will retire. Only 27 percent of men think that way.
2. Women don't want to get too far away from friends, either. Only 13 percent of men say leaving friends behind would be a retirement issue that would concern them, but 21 percent of women say it's important to keep friends close by.
3. Health worries women. More than 54 percent of women are doing something specific to make sure they stay healthy in retirement, compared to 48 percent of men who have that on their agendas. Some 38 percent of women don't want to stray too far from familiar doctors and health care facilities while 32 percent of men say that's important.
4. Women let the men in their lives manage the money. The Ameriprise study found that more than half of men  -- 54 percent -- report setting aside money in their own investments compared to 46 percent of women who say they’ve done the same. That's probably part of the reason that 31 percent of men compared to 20 percent of women say they know how much money they'll need to retire.
5. Women know how to make retirement fun. More than 25 percent of women say they've spent time figuring out how they'll rest and relax in retirement, while only 19 percent of of men have given that much thought.

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