Two-thirds of U.S. women with financial advisors intend to stay with them for the rest of their lives, according to the results of a survey by LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute published March 16.

“These results indicate that these women are happy with the service they are receiving. Yet the study revealed there is room for improvement,” says LIMRA. Four in 10 women said advisors should try to anticipate their needs more, and many respondents said to want their advisors to take a more proactive approach in communication.

More concerned about retirement security risks

The study also found women with advisors are more concerned than men when it comes to retirement security risks. For instance, 56 per cent of women said they worry reductions in Social Security and Medicare benefits could harm retirement security, over 10 per cent more than the number of men with such concerns. Almost half of women are worried about their retirement in regards to health care costs, stock market downturns, and increased taxes.

Male vs. female advisors

The study found that women want their advisors to minimize their risk of running out of money and protect their portfolio principal.  Other services women most value from their advisor include “creating a formal retirement income plan, having a more realistic picture of their retirement lifestyle, and maintaining perspective and thinking clearly about events and trends,” says LIMRA.

When it comes to the gender of their advisors, though women are more likely to use a female financial advisor than men, the vast majority of women (8 out of 10) said they do not care about the gender of their advisors.