Women generally do not know about the “life benefits” available in a life insurance policy and when told find great appreciation for their ability to help in retirement planning, a new survey suggests.

The majority of women (60%) associate life insurance with the death benefits, not the ability to access the cash value, according to a survey performed for Horsham, Pa.-based Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co.

“These latest results are very telling as they confirm our assertion that women want and need to plan for their financial futures but first must understand all their options,” says Eileen McDonnell, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Penn Mutual, in a statement.

The results would also indicate that life sales could be improved where agents and financial service professionals better promote the life benefits to those considering purchasing a policy.

“The distinct gap between importance and awareness indicates that we, as an industry, have been missing the boat when it comes to speaking with women about life insurance,” McDonnell said. “We continue to speak to them about what they already know and perhaps regard as less important, yet we spend little time speaking with them about possibilities and benefits they value. These findings should be top of mind as producers reach out to clients and prospects.”

When asked about life insurance policy benefits, 34% of those polled mentioned “death/burial/funeral/final expenses.” The results did not improve greatly when women were helped in the discussion: most appeared to be predominantly unfamiliar with all of the living benefits of life insurance. Even women who own permanent life insurance, which offers such living benefits, are not any more likely to be familiar with the living benefits than those who do not own the policies.

Benefits such as an income stream during retirement, access to money for things they want to do, and quick access to cash should it be needed are clearly regarded as very important to women, according to the survey. These three benefits exhibit higher levels of importance than do the death benefits, with which they are more likely to be familiar, the survey found.