Australians worry about their life after retirement, but it is the women appear to be more concerned, a recent survey by MLC, the wealth management arm of National Australia Bank, shows.

According to the MLC Australian Wealth Sentiment Survey, which reflects the responses of over 2,000 Australians, women aged 50 years and above were more than 60 per cent likely to choose conservative investment strategies compared to the males. 

When asked to rate the level of concern over superannuation and investment risks (scale of 1 to 10), women rated 7.02 points compared to men with 6.74, translating to a 4 per cent difference. This quadrupled to 16 per cent for those aged 50 years and up, where women's concern rose to 7.21 points and men's dropped to 6.22 points. The survey concluded that as ageing happens, women feel more worried about retirement while the men tend to feel more relaxed.

"The harsh reality is most people won't have enough savings to fund their retirement. For women, this especially rings true, as women retire with 40 per cent less than men because they take time out for children, are more likely to work part time and typically work less than the men," said Andrew Hagger, chief executive for MLC, in a statement.

The research recommends several strategies for women saving for retirement, including consolidating super fund investments, maximising pre-tax contributions during higher income periods and considering other strategies during lower income periods (like getting the spouse to contribute into the wife's super)

The survey was conducted from 9 to 27 August 2013.