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"At some point eight in 10 women will end up alone and solely responsible for their financial well-being."
That is one of the opening lines to a new report from UBS which surveyed how women are dealing with that responsibility. The findings suggest they have a long way to go.
Although 82% of the roughly 900 women surveyed believe equal participation in financial decisions is necessary for gender equality, 49% let their spouse take the lead. Sixteen percent take the lead on financial matters and 35% said they participate equally.
Altogether a little over 1,800 investors were surveyed in January and February, split almost equally between men and women, 25 and older with investable assets of at least $250,000 (the minimums were higher for those 31-39 and those 40 and older.) Fifty same-sex female couples were included. Findings from the report also included data from a survey among roughly 880 single men and women conducted in March 2019.
Even 41% of the women who were the primary breadwinners in a household said they defer to their spouses on financial matters, including half of those with a college degree.
One surprising finding: 54% of millennials surveyed defer to their spouses on financial decisions — far more than the 39% of boomers that do so — despite an overwhelming majority of single millennials (88%) who said they want to participate equally or take the lead in planning their finances for the future.
