When it comes to retirement, the adage to save early and often applies to everyone. But that doesn’t mean the ins and outs of your retirement will look the same as everyone else’s. Case in point: The Institute for Women’s Policy Research Center estimates that the median retirement income for women over 66 is 32.6 percent lower than for men.

As a woman, you face unique risks that can present real challenges, while both saving for the future and during retirement. The good news is that being aware of these challenges can help you create a stronger financial plan.

Here are six factors to consider when planning for your retirement.

1. The gender pay gap

In 2025, full-time working women are projected to earn just 83 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to the American Association of University Women. This is problematic for several reasons. The most obvious is that it can majorly delay your wealth accumulation and reduce your lifetime earning power. The National Women’s Law Center estimates that women miss out on hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a 40-year career. If you advocate for yourself and negotiate higher pay, you may be better positioned to narrow the gender wage gap, but pay inequality is still something that you should consider when planning for your retirement.

Simply put, the gender pay gap can have a ripple effect that impacts your ability to save for the future, achieve meaningful financial goals and build a strong nest egg.

2. Women are more likely to have career breaks

Exacerbating the wage gap is the fact that women are still largely in charge of caregiving—and are more likely to experience interruptions in their careers to raise kids or care for other family members. In fact, mothers are four times more likely than fathers to miss work due to childcare, according to one analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

Taking time out of the workforce may mean putting a pin in your retirement contributions, which can have a negative effect on your long-term savings. When you’re ready to get back to work, you may need to increase your contributions to make up for lost time. In the meantime, a spousal IRA can help you keep up on retirement contributions if you’re taking time off.

If you plan on temporarily stepping back from work because of caregiving duties, talk to a financial advisor about strategies to help balance out any retirement shortfalls. Doing so could also help reduce any financial stress you may be experiencing, which is no small thing. In fact, Northwestern Mutual’s 2024 Consumer Sentiment Survey found that 89 percent of women experience money-related worries—but more than half of the women surveyed said they’d never worked with a financial advisor.

3. Women live longer

Women’s life expectancy from birth is more than five years longer than men’s.¹  That means you may need to save more over your lifetime to ensure you don’t outlive your retirement savings.

Of course, how much you spend each year in retirement will depend on your personal expenses and lifestyle. But the bottom line is that when planning for retirement, you may need to live off your savings longer than a man would. It’s also important to consider strategies for maximizing your retirement income, including a plan for when to start taking Social Security.

Delaying your Social Security payments is one way to help increase your retirement income. You’re eligible to claim your benefits as early as age 62, but doing so prior to your full retirement age could reduce your benefits by as much as 30 percent.²  (FYI, the full retirement age is 67 for those born after 1959.)

But Social Security is just one piece of the puzzle. Knowing exactly how much you’ll need to save, what retirement income options are available to you and how to draw on your income sources in a tax-efficient way are all important parts of a strong retirement plan. A financial advisor who understands women’s retirement planning challenges can be a powerful resource.

4. Women have higher health care costs

Health care expenses tend to go up for everyone in retirement, regardless of gender. But because of longer lifespans, women may pay up to $200,000 more than men in health insurance premiums alone, according to one estimate. Living longer also makes long-term care plans more important. Accounting for these costs while you’re still young and healthy gives you time to save and strategize for them.

For example, opening a health savings account (HSA) can be a great option if you have a high-deductible health plan. An HSA allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars that can be used to cover qualified medical expenses like prescription drugs, medical deductibles and more. Once you turn 65, you can use these funds for whatever you like. You’ll have to pay taxes on distributions that aren’t for qualified health care expenses, but you won’t be hit with penalties.

5. “Gray divorce” impacts women more

More than a third of U.S. adults getting divorced are 50 or older.³ And research has shown that getting divorced later in life is financially harder on women than on men. One study estimates that women see a 45 percent decrease in their standard of living following a gray divorce versus 21 percent for men. This may be especially true for women who were not involved in financial decision-making while married.

If you’re going through a divorce, consider connecting with your financial advisor, who can help you recalibrate your retirement plan and understand your retirement income options. For instance, if you were married for at least 10 years and your ex-spouse is eligible to begin collecting Social Security, you might be able to collect benefits on their record. You could be entitled to an amount that’s equal to half of their benefit if you meet other criteria and haven’t remarried.

6. Women may be impacted by a lack of estate planning

Since women married to men are likely to outlive their husbands, proper estate planning is key to ensuring financial protection following the death of a spouse. A full estate plan includes more than just creating a will or trust. You’ll also want to name powers of attorney and update beneficiaries on life insurance policies, retirement accounts and other financial accounts. Keeping this information up to date is important because beneficiaries named in a policy override those named in a will. For example, if a husband names an ex-spouse as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy but names his current spouse in a will, the proceeds will go to the ex-spouse.

Let’s talk about your retirement planning needs

As a woman, you should consider important additional challenges you may face when planning for your retirement. That’s why working closely with a financial advisor is so important. At Northwestern Mutual we believe in starting each relationship with a better conversation—one that digs beneath the surface to uncover financial blind spots and opportunities. We then use this conversation to find solutions that empower you to meet your biggest life goals (like retiring) more easily.