Talking Money To Women: Insuring Women's Futures

“For too long, the financial planning industry has been dominated by grey haired older men, telling people what to do with their money. This has alienated women and done nothing to increase their financial knowledge. Instead, we see our role as educating our clients. Laying out all the options and then empowering them to make the right decision.”

As part of the campaign, Sian Fisher, the CII’s Chief Executive, has set the insurance profession the ‘Talk To Ten Thousand’ challenge.  Unividual has taken up the challenge and committed to run a financial wellbeing session during Talk Money Week on Thursday 21st November, that aims to empower women and improve their financial resilience.

The session will draw from industry research to provide advice where it’s most needed. Below are some of the key findings from the Insuring Women’s Future Report[1] on 6 Moments that Matter in women’s lives.

1. Studying and requalifying: Over ½ of administrative and secretarial jobs are at high risk of being made redundant through automation. Women make up ¾ of these employees.
2. Entering and re-entering the workplace: 52% of women aged 22-29 opt out of workplace pension saving, compared to 3% of men. After auto-enrolment, just over half of 22-29 year olds working in the private sector were active members of a pension scheme.
3. Relationships: making and breaking up: Median pension wealth for married men is £53,000 and married women £10,000.
4. Motherhood and becoming a carer: Women in their 30s have an average of £1,000 in savings, reducing according to the number of children. Women with 3-4 children have £100-£200 in savings.
5. Later life planning: 75% of women say they don’t plan to see a professional financial adviser about retirement because they don’t think they have enough money saved, compared to 65% of men who do their own research.
6. Ill-health, infirmity and dying: The average cost of residential care for women aged 65-74 entering a care home is £132,000 (£82,000 for men). Private expenditure on social care is expected to triple over the next 20 years.