Each generation of women develops more financial acumen, yet the statistics surrounding women's finances remain relatively grim. According to Certified Financial Planner Alan Marc Feigenbaum, author of "A Complete Guide to Protecting Your Financial Security When Getting a Divorce," women still receive lower pay and earn significantly less money than their husbands earn over their lifetimes. Compound this with the reality that many women outlive their husbands for decades, and it becomes clear that finances have a major impact on married women, especially in later life.
Investment Attitudes
An idea persists among some married women that finances are for boys. Women's asset allocations are often either too conservative or they leave that kind of thing to their husbands. Christopher Hayes, director of the National Center for Women and Retirement Research, believes some women view any loss in their investments -- even short term -- as a mistake, whereas the real mistake is a lack of growth-oriented investments. Women need to invest aggressively enough to withstand the long test of time.
Saving for Retirement
Women accrue lower Social Security benefits and retirement plan accumulations, says Feigenbaum, due in part to career choice. Women remain under-represented in higher-paying industries like scientific research. Younger married women often neglect to maximize their 401(k), or even contribute the amount necessary to qualify for their employer's match. This, for CFP Marilyn Steinmetz, is tantamount to refusing free money. Married women who squirrel money away in their 20s and 30s reap the advantage of compound interest in later years.
Child Rearing
The single largest financial issue that married women face -- loss of income due to years spent outside the work force -- centers on childbirth and child rearing. According to Governor Elizabeth A. Duke of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System, the average woman spends 10 years out of the workforce performing care-giving duties to her children or parents. This has a devastating impact on her lifetime earnings and pension.
Divorce
Nobody wants to think about or plan for divorce. However, certain facts about marriages bear scrutiny, namely, as many as 50 percent of them end in divorce, says Duke. Following divorce, the average woman's standard of living drops, in some cases by as much as 30 percent. Spousal support tends to be less, thanks to women's increased presence in the workplace.
Widowhood
No woman wants to plan for the death of her husband. Nonetheless, women live longer than men do. The average widow, in fact, is quite young -- 56 -- and given that the life expectancy of the average women is 81, according to Duke, a widow can conceivably be on her own financially for upwards of 30 years.
Member Comments