What We Learned from the Survey of Women Reaching Retirement Age: Dentsu Inc. Senior Project Report [2]Career Self-Assessments and Money Concerns Among "Women Approaching Retirement"
This series delves into the insights of women around retirement age, based on the "Women Approaching Retirement Survey" ( press release ) conducted by the Dentsu Inc. Senior Project.
Part 1 reviewed the profiles of "retiring women" and their life and working styles shaped alongside their careers. Part 2 focuses on their unexpected true feelings about approaching retirement and the pressing "money" issues that concern them.
(※) Retirement Age Women Survey: Defined retirement age as 60,
● "Pre-Retirement Women": Women aged 50-54 scheduled to retire within 6-10 years
● "Retirement-Age Women": Women aged 55-59 scheduled to retire within 5 years
● "Post-Retirement Women": Women aged 60-64 who have already retired.
Among post-retirement women, those still working are classified as "Post-Retirement Women (Still Working Group)", while those not working are classified as "Post-Retirement Women (Retired from Work Group)".
See the end of the volume for details.
① Good Job! for Yourself! The average score given by "Retirement-Age Women" for their career lives was 63 points.
When retirement women (aged 55–59 among survey respondents) rated their career lives on a 100-point scale, the average score was 63 points. The distribution shows the bulk of scores falling between 50 and 80 points.
This average score of 63 could be seen as either high or low, depending on your perspective. Looking at the individual free-response answers revealed the feelings of these "post-retirement women" who had built their career lives—feelings not apparent from the average score.
Those who scored 90 points or higher on their own career lives, and conversely, those who scored in the low 30s or below, each accounted for less than 10% of the total. The bulk of responses concentrated in the 50-80 point range, which alone comprised 80% of the total.
Even within this 50-80 point volume zone, each response revealed dilemmas and struggles—such as difficulty focusing fully on work or finding time for children—reflecting the challenge of achieving satisfaction in both career and parenting.
Positive self-assessments fall into two patterns. One involves valuing "myself who ran relentlessly," acknowledging having done everything possible. Looking back, their actions form a connected line, leading to the self-assessment that nothing was wasted. The other pattern, frequently seen, involves valuing "my perseverance in overcoming hardships," such as balancing work and childcare.
Conversely, in the low self-evaluation pattern, free-response answers focused on "a backward-looking attitude" were prominent, such as taking the easy way out or regret over things they could have done but didn't. Examples included "I avoided work," "I couldn't engage in work only I could do," and "I worked reluctantly."
Incidentally, while not included in the above chart, free-response answers from "post-retirement women" who had already reached retirement age frequently expressed pride in their perseverance despite various hardships. Responses included "satisfaction and self-praise for completing my career," "achievements utilizing qualifications and expertise," and "experience contributing as a leader."
These "retired women" worked passionately since an era when the social environment for women's employment was still underdeveloped. They navigated life stage changes like marriage, childbirth, raising children, their husbands' job transfers, and relocations. Their individual feelings—finding satisfaction in work achievements while reconciling with what they had to give up—lay hidden behind that average score of "63 points."
② Retirement is a "milestone"; self-driven "retirement women" still want to keep working long after retirement.
How long do these resilient and determined "retirement-age women," who have built their careers with such fortitude and dedication, intend to keep working? We asked women aged 55 to 59, approaching retirement, whether they plan to continue working until retirement.
The results showed that 18.1% had already decided to work after retirement. Combined with the 49.3% who hadn't decided but wanted to work after retirement, approximately 70% expressed a desire to continue working.
In contrast, only 24.6% were "unsure/undecided" about continuing work, and a mere 8% had decided they would "not work after retirement (retire)".
This shows that the majority of "retirement-age women" not only intend to work steadily until retirement but also want to continue working afterward.
Why do "retirement women" want to keep working? The reasons cited most frequently were, unsurprisingly, future financial anxiety and maintaining their standard of living.
Top reasons included "Anxiety without money (55.9%)", "To maintain livelihood (52.7%)", and "For spending money (48.4%)".
Approximately half of these "retirement women" in regular corporate employment have an average annual personal income of 4 million yen or less. Given that about half are currently single, divorced, or widowed, they need to keep working to support themselves.
Meanwhile, about 50% also continue working because they want their own spending money, revealing a desire to maintain a lifestyle where they earn and spend their own money.
Beyond financial reasons, other motivations for continuing to work (or wanting to continue) include: "I can't maintain my daily rhythm without work (47.3%)", "I want to stay connected to society (45.2%)", and "I'd have too much free time on my hands (38.7%)". Maintaining a daily rhythm and social connections after retirement are also significant factors.
For "retirement women," retirement is no longer the goal but a "milestone." Behind their desire to work diligently until retirement and continue working beyond it lies the thought of a long life ahead after retirement. They want to earn money to maintain economic independence, their standard of living, and the vibrancy of their daily life, while also being able to spend on their own enjoyment. This reflects the self-driven, resilient lifestyle of "retirement women."
③ How to use retirement payouts. Save prudently while not forgetting to treat yourself.
This section examines the financial concerns of "post-retirement women," starting with retirement payouts.
The average "expected retirement payout" among women anticipating retirement is ¥5.94 million. However, the actual amount received by women who have already retired is ¥11.07 million, showing a significant gap. The fact that 30% responded "don't know" or "no answer" suggests that few people have a clear grasp of their actual retirement payout.
Furthermore, when considering retirement funds beyond severance pay, it's essential to factor in both "savings" and "debt."
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Statistics Bureau's Household Expenditure Survey (2019), the average current savings per household for "households with two or more persons" by age group shows an average of 17.04 million yen for those in their 50s. Among these, 55.3% carry debts such as mortgages, with an average debt amount of 6.52 million yen.
By the 60s, current savings rise to ¥23.3 million, while the proportion of households with debt drops to 26.9%—roughly half that of the 50s—with an average debt of ¥2.5 million.
With about half of those in their 50s still carrying debt like loans, even combining savings and retirement payouts feels insufficient for preparing for a 100-year life, making persistent financial anxiety a reality.
This vague economic anxiety about life after retirement seems to be driving the preference for a conservative approach to spending post-retirement, with the mindset of "first and foremost, put money firmly into savings."
In this survey, when asked about preparations for retirement, "saving money" topped the list at about 40%. Similarly, the primary use for retirement lump sums is also "savings and deposits (82.1%)".
Following this were "travel expenses (22.6%)", "treating oneself (22.6%)", "hobbies (15.1%)", and "costs for one's own nursing care or medical expenses (14.2%)".
These "retirement women" aim to build a solid foundation for their future using savings accumulated before retirement and their retirement pay, while also investing that money in travel, personal rewards, dining out, and their own wellness to live richly after retirement. True to a generation that experienced the era of lavish consumption, they haven't forgotten their desire to enjoy their lives going forward.
④ Husbands take a backseat? Married women approaching retirement want to spend time and money on themselves for joyful days
We asked "retirement women" what hopes they hold for life after retirement. Over half expressed positive feelings, with the top responses being: "I have many things I want to do after retirement" (60.5%), "I won't feel lonely" (59.5%), and "I'm looking forward to it" (52.5%).
Regarding what they want to prioritize in life after retirement, staying healthy came first. Following that, enjoying "hobbies" while carefully using their saved money was cited.
When asked specifically about married women, about 60% said they "prefer to value their own time over spending it with their husband," while only 7.5% expressed wanting to enjoy life with their husband.
It seems the true sentiment of "retirement women" is this: rather than spending time with their spouse, they want to enrich and enjoy their personal time; after retirement, they want to prioritize "themselves" over others; and they want to continue working while staying healthy and vibrantly enjoying life.
It will be interesting to observe how the recent COVID-19 restrictions, which gave them a taste of a pseudo-retirement lifestyle before actually reaching retirement age, impacted these "retirement women."
⑤Final Episode: "Target Adult Women's Consumption! Hints for Approaching Retirement-Age Women"
"Retirement women" have navigated life stage changes, continued working, balanced achievements with satisfaction, and forged their own paths. For these women looking ahead at their long lives, "retirement" is merely a "milestone." They value figuring out how to enjoy their personal time while continuing to work.
So, how will the "girl power" of these self-driven, resilient, and future-oriented "post-retirement women" manifest in their post-retirement consumption desires?
Next time, titled "Target Mature Women's Consumption! Hints for Approaching Retirement-Age Women," we'll summarize business approach hints for retirement-age women. This will include insights from actual "post-retirement women" who have reached retirement and comparisons with "pre-retirement women" who are beginning to consider retirement. Stay tuned!
【"Retiring Women Survey" Overview】
・Target Area: Nationwide
・Survey Method: Online survey
・Subject Criteria and Sample Size:
A. Women in their 50s working as full-time employees at companies with mandatory retirement age: 400 respondents
※Pre-Retirement Women (Aged 50–54): 200 respondents
Retired women: 55–59 years old, 200 respondents
B. Women aged 60–64 who worked as full-time employees at companies with mandatory retirement and experienced retirement: 200 respondents (*)
※Post-retirement women
"Still working after retirement" = Continuing work group 100ss
"Not working after retirement" = Retired group 100ss
・Total sample size: 600ss
・Survey period: December 2019
・Research Organization: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.
※For charts in this article, data was weighted based on age-specific population ratios from the 2015 National Census and adjusted for respondent occurrence rates before aggregation.
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Author
Yuko Komatsu
Dentsu Inc.
Consistently engaged in strategic planning. Provides holistic solutions including branding, consulting, product development, business/marketing/communication strategy formulation, internal initiative development, research, and facilitation.
