13 Scary Statistics about Women and Money

I am often asked why I have a special site/group/event just for women dealing with money. Here are 13 reasons why:

1. According to the average life expectancy for women is 81 years, compared to 73 years for men. (The Social Security Administration)

2. The average age of widowhood is 55 years old. (US Census Bureau)

3. Women are more likely than men to be single parents. (U.S. Census Bureau, “American Community Survey, 2008,” Tables B11001, B11002, B11005, and B11013)

 
4. Nearly half of women (44 percent) expect to retire at age 70 or older – including 19 percent of those who “do not plan to retire.” (Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies)

 
5. The median earnings for all women are $638 a week, compared to $798 for men–approximately 80 percent of what men earn on average (The Bureau of Labor Statistics)

 
6. The average woman spends 15% of her working years outside of the workforce caring for children and elderly parents compared to the average man’s 1.6%. (Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement and National Center for Women’s Retirement Research)

 
7. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. women ages 40 to 79 have already dealt with a major financial “life crisis,” such as job loss, divorce, the death of a spouse, or serious illness. (AARP, “Understanding Women’s Financial Needs and Behavior,” 2007 survey.)

 
8. In 80% of the nation’s households women are the primary decision makers regarding purchases. (PeopleSupport, as cited on www.womanmotorist.com)

9. 80-90% of women will be solely responsible for their finances at some point in their lives- mainly due to divorce and the fact that on average women outlive men by seven years (National Center for Women and retirement research)

 
10. Even though women have a longer life expectancies, when asked how much they were aiming for in retirement savings, women aimed lower, with a median goal of $200,000 versus $400,000 for men. (Retirement Fitness Survey 2010)

 
11. Fewer than two in 10 women feel “very prepared” to make wise financial decisions. Half indicate that they “need some help,” and one-third feels that they “need a lot of help.” (Financial Experience &Behaviors Among Women 2010−2011 Prudential Research Study)

 
12. Social Security provides over half of women’s income over the age of 65, 67% to be exact. (Social Security: Especially Vital to Women- IWPR analysis of the 2010 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement)

 
13. The number of middle and upper income women struggling with debt has risen faster than the number of lower income women struggling with debt. (Women, Debt and Recession, CareOne Debt Relief Services)

What do you think? Where you surprised? Yes, you can still register to attend Worth It! The Money Conference for Women

Andrea

Andrea is the Chief Chick of Smart Money Chicks. After filing BK twice (once because she panicked, second time because the pro messed the first time up), she realized that it all could have been avoided if she understood more about how her Finances worked and the options available. At that point, she wanted to help as many as she could never make the same mistakes again. Our Promise is that all the content you read on here is created or edited by Andrea