More Women Seeking Professional Financial Advice Says Lyndhurst Financial Management
Although the majority of women seeking financial advice still tend to do so after divorce, bereavement or any other life changing experiences, there is a definite trend for women, especially those who work or run a business, to focus on their financial security and future.
Johanna Haigh, a specialist Financial Adviser in the Focus For Women team at Lyndhurst Financial Management, one of Hertfordshire’s leading financial advice and planning companies, says
“”We have definitely seen an upturn in enquiries from women seeking our advice to help them with financial decisions about their future. Encouraging women to make their own choices and to make greater use of their finances in later life is very important to us.”
“It’s great that we are seeing more and more women, especially at a younger age, seeking advice, however confidence can still be a big issue. Historically we have often seen divorce or a bereavement as a trigger for women to start enquiring about financial advice but this doesn’t need to be the case anymore. We like to give our female clients the confidence to make their own financial decisions. It’s not only empowering, it can also be a way to protect yourself from the unexpected and ensure that you can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle.”
The statistics are shocking, as highlighted in a feature from Professional Adviser magazine. Although women are more likely to save than men, the average ISA for women aged 25-34 is £5,516 while for men of the same age it’s £6,180, a 17% difference.
Pension pots are far worse. By the age of 65 the pension pot for women averages £35,700 while for men it’s £179,091. Child care benefits can take as much as £23,000 of the pension entitlement of higher earning women.
As women tend to live longer than men there are also serious implications in the cost of care homes. The average care home cost for women aged between 65-74 is £132,000 representing a 4 year stay as opposed to men, whose costs tend to be half because their average stay is two and half years.
Johanna concludes
“We like to give our female clients the confidence to make their own financial decisions. It’s not only empowering, it’s also a way to protect yourself from the unexpected and ensure that you can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle for as long as you live.”
