More Women Are Taking Control of Their Finances

Today’s senior women are taking more control of their finances, predominantly a role occupied by men in the past. As women take more of a vested interest in their own financial future, banks and crediting institutions are changing marketing policies to target women and are seeing results from their efforts.

Learn more about why women need to be proactive with financial planning and how their increased confidence in financial planning is changing the industry.

Financial Planning for Women

While financial planning is crucial for every person, women face unique situations that make it even more important and requires an active role in understanding their finances in retirement.

Women generally live longer than men, meaning they often outlive their spouse. This can be troublesome if one spouse has been handling all of the finances. It can also mean that pensions for spouses are cut by as much as 50 percent after the retiree passes, meaning financial difficult for widows. Also, generally speaking, women spend less time in the workforce and take time off to raise children and care for aging parents. Between time off and the gender gap, women make less than men and are typically not able to save as much for retirement.

In fact, research from the Bank of American Merrill Lynch and Age Wave, show that these factors can put women at a serious disadvantage for retirement. After taking the age gap, time off, and early retirement into consideration, their research revealed that men can earn as much as $1.055,000 more than women over their lifetime.

Increased Confidence in Financial Planning and More

There’s no doubt that women are facing an uphill battle in retirement planning. But new research suggests growing confidence among senior women that is impacting their financial planning strategy.

As women become more aware of their importance in financial planning, a new report from AARP has found that women are generally feeling good about themselves as they age. The online survey collected data from 2,000 women ages 21 to 72. 60 percent of respondents said they not only accepted their age, they ‘embraced’ it and 61 percent said they feel they are beautiful at any age. More than 80 percent said they have never lied about their age.

The survey reflects a growing trend of confidence among women as they age - and it is a trend marketers have not missed. A recent ad campaign from Northwestern Mutual encourages potential clients to “Spend Your Life Living” and targets women in their ads. By acknowledging the different ways women approach money, work, and spending, the company put together a wildly successful ad campaign that encouraged women to explore their role in financial planning. Instead of focusing on how the actual financial planning strategy works, their ad campaign reframed financial planning into an emotional storytelling experience that resonated with a growing female target audience.

While women face unique challenges in retirement planning, fiduciary financial advisors can serve as a trusted resource and helper along the way. Helping women explore retirement options and conducting comprehensive financial assessments, fiduciary financial advisors can set you on the right path, setting you up for a secure financial future.

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