August 23, 2006

Poll finds women edgy on finances; Even top earners fear going broke - 18% keeping secret stashes

By Ellen Wulfhorst

Most U.S. women do not feel very financially secure and many have a secret stash of money hidden away, according to a survey released Tuesday.Half of the women surveyed said they worry about losing all their money and becoming destitute, including half of those who earn $100,000 a year or more, said the survey conducted for Allianz Life Insurance of North America and Age Wave business consultants, based in San Francisco. Ninety percent of women said they feel only somewhat or not at all financially secure, it said. That figure included 33 percent who said they do not feel at all financially secure.Women are twice as likely as men 18 percent to 9 percent to have a secret stash of money that their spouses or partners don't know about, the study said.

The study comes as women are gradually closing the wage gap with men in the United States, where they earn 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to government statistics. That is up from 64 cents 20 years ago and 74 cents 10 years ago.The number of women earning more than $100,000 has quadrupled in the past decade, the government reports, and women comprise half of all stock-market investors, according to industry statistics.Women's concerns could be a reflection of their growing economic power, said Ken Dychtwald, president of Age Wave and author of several books on aging."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," he said.The online survey of 3,183 adults has a margin of error of approximately 2 percentage points.