This Is a Wake-Up Call

This Is a Wake-Up Call -


Given the increasing role women play in society as professionals, breadwinners and as the dominant gender in old age, women need to be more aware and active in their financial planning.
women now represent the majority of college graduates, nearly half the workforce and are becoming the main breadwinners in many households. Yet most remain uneasy or uninvolved when just talk about insurance and money management.
Many women (single, married or with a partner) are mainstays in their homes, according to a 2012 study of 1,410 women and 604 men by Prudential. This study shows that women who are married or living with a partner, compared to 22% more money than their husbands or partners and their earning potential is growing. In 08, women contributed to 36% of family income, against around 27% in 1970, according to a 2011 survey of over 4,500 households by financial services research firm hearts and wallets.
A The evolution of landscape
A high divorce rates, more women exhausted men, means that 80% to 0% of women will be solely responsible their finances at some point in their lives.
The problem? financial responsibilities of women are growing faster than their knowledge, says Joan Cleveland, senior vice president of business development for individual life insurance at Prudential.
Numerous studies in the past decade have shown that women always feel less confident than men in their understanding of financial products, their ability to make financial decisions and their perception of their current economic situation, Prudential and hearts and portfolios of education among them.
women are 42% more likely than men to worry about having enough money for retirement; 49% say they are "very inexperienced" investment against 34% of men and 42% say they are "very uncomfortable" taking the investment risk compared with 28% of men the survey 2012 Hearts & Wallets of 5,460 households shows.
Some of them can be attributed to traditional gender roles, particularly among baby boomers. They are still in the generation where is accepted for a man to drive these decisions. Many lack knowledge because they must do so in the past.
But it can also be due to the financial services industry, which hosts mostly men in the way it presents and discusses information and products.
women like to learn in groups and consultations with their peers more than men and women find the most inhospitable jargon and tend to turn a deaf ear when things are explained from the perspective of performance. These kinds of details are important for women to recognize, as they often shape their financial priorities.
High Anxiety
The hearts and wallets 2012 study shows that having dependents increases financial stress for women more than it does for men. Among the women with children, 39% reported moderate or high anxiety about their financial situation in retirement compared to 29% of men with children.
Pershing recently published a guide describing how catering to women is important for the future success of companies and financial planners. It argues that financial advisers must file gender stereotypes and assumptions that women can not or does not want to understand the investment, and the need to take the time to develop closer relationships with female clients.
Counsellors must pay attention because women are 51% of the population, and the economic power they wield is huge. Insurance agents and advisors need to become better listeners, more empathetic and focus on financial education when working with women, but women must also face their apparent inability to grasp financial concepts .
Women must be more involved in the treatment of their investments, the protection of their income and the value of human life by insurance and retirement planning.