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How Women Are Investing For Retirement

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 People are getting more nervous about retirement and social security.

Four in 10 Americans age 50 or older say they would dip into social security before reaching retirement age, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

During WFSU's Perspectives, Tallahassee financial experts said men and women are preparing for this uncertainty differently.

Women more often use a financial advisor and pursue more conservative investments, said Cantina Peterson, director of tax services at the accounting firm Thomas Howell Ferguson.

"Perhaps it is that they want affirmation that the decisions are correct," Peterson said. "But I think that women these days really are empowered by the decisions they are already making to take the next step further to really make a difference."

Diana Cureton, the vice president at Hancock Bank, said it's important for people to start investing for retirement early. In her case, that was at 21 years old.

But Cureton is one of few. About a fourth of people started saving for retirement before age 25, according to a 2014 Gallup survey. The average age investors started saving was 29.

Meanwhile, the retirement worries persist.

The AP poll says 58 percent of people with incomes less than $50,000 are more anxious than secure about their retirement savings. Forty percent of people earning $100,000 or more worry if their savings will be enough.

To learn more about financial planning and retirement investments, listen to the podcast here.