Men are more likely than women to save and invest for retirement, and women tend to invest more conservatively, according RBC’s latest RRSP Poll.

The survey of more than 1,400 adults showed that within the past year, 44% of men put money toward retirement savings, compared to 33% of women, and 23% of men worked at building an investment portfolio, compared to 16% of women.

Nearly one-third of Canadian women have not started saving for their retirement, compared to one-fifth of men. Women expressed more concern over balancing saving for immediate priorities against putting money away for the longer term or their retirement.

“What we’re seeing in our research is that women are placing more emphasis on taking care of daily needs – often the needs of others – rather than focusing on their long-term needs,” said Lee Anne Davies, head of retirement strategies at RBC.

The survey also showed that women tend to invest more cautiously than men. While mutual funds are the top choice for both genders, men are more likely to invest in stocks than women, while women are more inclined to put their money in savings accounts.

Women in Western Canada appear to be particularly adverse to risk, with only 12% investing in stocks and 26% putting their money into savings accounts. Women in Ontario are slightly more aggressive, with 18% investing in stocks.

“Women tend to be more conservative in their approach to saving for the future, with a stronger focus on investments that provide steadier returns. This is why we see the amount of money women say they need for retirement remaining steady,” said Davies. “The amount of money men say they need in retirement, on the other hand, changes as their investment returns change.”

A higher proportion of women than men said they didn’t know what investments they held in their RRSPs, or that their advisor handles these investments for them. Women in Western Canada appear to rely on their advisors to a greater extent than in other regions, with 29% unaware of the investments they hold, compared to 15% of Ontario women.

The poll showed that the amount of money Canadians feel they’ll need to finance their retirement has dropped in the past three years, and much more substantially for men. The men surveyed said they think they’ll need $493,000, down from $922,000 in 2007, while women expect that they’ll need $510,000, down from $566,000 in 2007.

IE