Only 25% of Women Plan for Retirement, Says HSBC

British women are confident in taking control of the household purse but their pre-occupation with it is distracting them from their longer-term financial planning, HSBC has claimed.

The bank’s research found that 71 per cent of British men claim to make all or most of their household’s long-term financial decisions without input from anyone else, with just 29 per cent sharing the task with their partners.

Christine Foyster, head of wealth development for HSBC, said: “It is surprising to see that in Britain there is still such vast inequality between men and women when it comes to making decisions about saving for the future. Preparing for retirement is one of the most important aspects of financial planning, and a lack of involvement is leaving women potentially exposed to financial hardship in later life.”

Only 25 per cent of women take sole responsibility for making decisions about their own retirement, while almost one in 10 leave the responsibility for retirement planning to their other half.

The only area where women were in full financial control was in handling the household budget, where roles are reversed with 43 per cent of women taking sole responsibility, compared with 32 per cent of men.

Anna Sofat, chief executive of London-based Addidi, said: “In my experience women who have independent wealth do take control of their finance and often also on behalf of their partners. Where women delegate the financial management it is often because they are working mums and as such have many different roles to juggle. For these women financial management is an area which they can let go in practical terms which allows them to focus on their jobs and their families”

Source: http://www.ftadviser.com/2011/11/02/investments/only-of-women-plan-for-retirement-says-hsbc-Wz296s58BNB9RArhjuwYyJ/article.html