August 22, 2006

Study: Financial Security Fears Haunt Most Women

By Shaveta Bansal

New York, NY (AHN) - An online survey of 3,183 adults conducted by Harris Interactive for Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance and Age Wave reveals that most women don't feel financially secure despite the higher end income they earn. According to the survey released on Tuesday many women even keep a "secret stash" hidden from their spouses.

About 90% of women surveyed said they feel somewhat or not at all financially secure, and almost half of the women said they fear losing it all and becoming destitute, including nearly half of those earning $100,000 or more annually.

Also, 18% of women surveyed said they have a secret stash of cash of which their spouse knows nothing, versus 9% of men who said they had such a stash.

The study comes as the wage gap between men and women in the is gradually declining. According to government statistics, women earn 77 cents for every dollar a man makes compared to 64 cents 20 years ago and 74 cents 10 years ago. Also, industry statistics show that women comprise half of all stock market investors.

Ken Dychtwald, president of Age Wave and author of several books on aging, believes that the survey reflects that the women are ready to tackle the financial topics, but don't have the tools at hand.

"For the very first time, a mass generation of women is now beginning to realize that taking action and taking responsibility for their long-term financial well-being is going to fall on their shoulders, and they're concerned and they're worried," he said.

"Frankly, you can't really rely on your employer or your government for long-term financial security," he said.

The survey conducted in June has an error margin of approximately 2 percentage points.