Women’s Wealth Is Growing. When Will Finance Catch Up?

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The Women’s Euro 2022 football championship has drawn record crowds, selling out huge stadiums that, until very recently, had been the preserve of men’s games. If there was any lingering doubt about the commercial viability of women’s football, Euro 2022 has shown that, with sufficient engagement, change can happen very quickly. 

Other social changes are occurring more quietly, but they are no less revolutionary.

More than 60% of UK assets will be in female hands by 2025, according to a forecast by the Centre for Business and Economic Research. This means that older women especially will have to engage in more financial planning.

Several factors are contributing to this shift. There are twice as many women as men aged 90 years or older, for example, and divorce rates among those in retirement, so-called silver splitters, are rising even as the total number of divorces falls. This often leads to older women assuming greater financial responsibility at a stage in life when many look to make things less complicated.

Among the myriad of issues older women might face, two stand out.

The most pressing is usually how to generate retirement income. In the past, there might have been a spousal pension income to inherit, together with a share of their partner’s state pension. These days, a pension is more likely to take the form of a lump sum from which cash is withdrawn. This puts far more onus on individuals to ensure that they don’t live beyond…

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