Today we’ll continue taking a look at the gender gap in retirement strategy. Women tend to need more money than men in retirement because on average they live longer, have more healthcare expenses, and often make less money in their working lives than men do….

Today we’ll continue taking a look at the gender gap in retirement strategy. Women tend to need more money than men in retirement because on average they live longer, have more healthcare expenses, and often make less money in their working lives than men do.

In addition to financial options—such as saving more, delaying retirement, and taking advantage of company matches in 401(k) funds—there are several non-financial steps that women can take to plan for their retirement.

Reframing retirement living

“We are bombarded with images of the happy retirement—the vacations, the palm trees, the golf courses—but we need to rethink our retirement and not buy into that,” says Jane Nowak, an Atlanta-based certified financial planner specializing in women’s retirement. “Retirement doesn’t have to be what someone tells us it looks like.”

Living together with other women—whether siblings, single women, or women who have lost their spouses—brings big benefits in shared housing expenses and increased companionship, says Jan Cullinane, author of “The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life” and the upcoming “The Single Woman’s Guide to Retirement” (John Wiley & Sons, 2012).

Cullinane recommends that women look at creative housing arrangements...