(Yicai Global) Sept. 1 -- Less than half of the Chinese women canvassed in a recent survey have bought a private pension insurance policy and yet they are the most vulnerable gender to old age infirmities and lack of funds during retirement, the poll said.

Only 47.44 percent of the 1,406 women surveyed had subscribed to a private pension plan, according to a report by the Fudan Development Institute and Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance. This is below the ideal target of universal coverage, they added.

Women live longer than men and they are at a higher risk of developing disease during old age than men, the report said. About 30 percent of those canvassed already feel that they are not healthy and that their mental state is in the balance.

Women are insufficiently prepared for retirement, the report said. Women on average only start to make provision for retirement after the age of 44. Only 8.8 percent of those surveyed thought they should start preparing at around the age of 30, the report said.

Less than 30 percent of the women felt that they would be able to make ends meet in their old age. Most estimated they would need between CNY240,000 (USD35,184) and CNY480,000 a year once retired, yet they were earning on average between CNY100,000 and CNY290,000 annually. This would not be enough to cover their living and health care expenses not to mention extra costs like continuing child care.

However, the potential is there, the report said. The proportion of women willing to buy private pension insurance schemes will reach 8.87 percent from 5.89 percent, it added.

The survey canvassed 1,406 women and 269 men across 14 major Chinese cities.

Editor: Kim Taylor