Key issues in women's lack of involvement/awareness include:

Only 35 percent of wives say they are completely confident in their ability to take full responsibility for the household retirement finances, compared to 72 percent of husbands.
Eight percent of wives report they are the primary retirement financial decision-maker in their household, compared to 37 percent of husbands. Further, fewer wives (15 percent) than husbands (40 percent) consider themselves to be the "primary contact" with their investment professional.
When asked how much money they expect their income sources to generate monthly in retirement, twice as many wives (32 percent) as husbands (15 percent) say they do not know, indicating a greater lack of financial awareness.
Wives tend to have a lower risk tolerance and invest less aggressively than husbands. For example, 21 percent of wives say they are most interested in preserving wealth and therefore willing to settle for lower returns, compared to 16 percent of husbands. In addition, only 5 percent of wives describe themselves as investors, rather than a spender or saver, vs. 20 percent of husbands.

The study also explored the relationship with financial professionals, and found that 58 percent of couples work with an investment professional, but only one-third (35 percent) meet with the advisor together. This could be one of the reasons for the education gap among wives.

Instant Insights /

Couples not talking about retirement

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