Research Reveals Need For Stronger Women’s Financial Planning

As Americans celebrate Women’s History Month, new research released today from Lincoln Financial Group reveals that while women place high importance on planning for retirement and their family’s future, they are facing gaps that are keeping them from reaching the positive outcomes they seek.

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Good Intentions Falling Short

According to Lincoln Financial’s Love and Responsibility Survey, most women have good intentions when it comes to creating positive financial outcomes for themselves and the ones they love. Vast majorities say they are prioritizing planning for their retirement (90%) and their family’s future (84%), yet over seven in 10 feel they are not doing a very good job with either. In fact, 70 percent of women are worried they will run out of money in retirement – and among them, only 20 percent say they have put a plan in place to manage this concern.

“The good news is that consumers recognize the importance of the financial planning process, but there is still a disconnect between their thoughts and actions,” said Jamie Ohl, executive vice president, president Retirement Plan Services, Lincoln Financial Group. “Savers are faced with many competing financial priorities, and we want to encourage people to set goals, save more, and then help them understand how what they’re saving now will translate into income in retirement.”

Identifying the Challenges

Women also cited the following barriers to the financial planning process:

• Current expenses make it hard to set aside money for the future (58%)
• Lack of time for financial planning (44%)
• Feeling less educated about retirement planning (52%) and personal financial planning (55%) than they should be

The study went on to show that women’s knowledge of certain financial products and solutions is lower than men’s in specific areas. Women acknowledged knowing very little or nothing about annuities (61% versus 45% men) and long-term care (50% versus 41% men).

“Building a solid financial plan is becoming more and more complex, and today there are more solutions to choose from than ever before,” said Kathy Kavanaugh, senior vice president of Distribution Marketing for Lincoln Financial. “One way to help transform aspirations into reality is by engaging with financial planners and advisors to help secure the outcomes that are right for your particular situation.”

Strengthening Financial Understanding

Men and women vary when it comes to their top sources for financial information. While women rank their significant other or spouse (42%) as their number one source, men say that financial professionals are their go-to (37%). Both women and men prefer not to discuss finances with others, but 72 percent are open to working with a financial advisor to help them plan for the future.

“Being educated and working with a professional advisor is the best route for many Americans in order to receive the support and advice they need to maintain their lifestyle in retirement,” said Kavanaugh.

To help strengthen women’s understanding of personal finance and retirement issues, Lincoln Financial (@lincolnfingroup) will be hosting a live Twitter chat moderated by Anita Grossman, a registered representative of Lincoln Financial Advisors. Tweet your questions live on March 27, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. ET using the hashtag #LFGWomen.

Methodology for the 2018 Love and Responsibility Survey

Results for the 2018 Lincoln Love & Responsibility Survey are based on an online survey among 2,393 Americans ages 18+ that was conducted by Whitman Insight Strategies on behalf of Lincoln Financial Group. Field dates were from June 28 to July 3, 2018. The survey included a sample of the General Population as well as over-samples to ensure data cuts by Generational sub-groups as well as Hispanic/Latino Americans (N=432), African Americans (N=417), Asian Americans (N=413), and LGBTQ Americans (N=426). The overall sample was weighted to reflect the proportion of these audiences by gender, age, region, race and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The margin of error at the 95% level of confidence for the total sample is ±1.9%. Source data for the statistics mentioned in this release are available here.

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help empower people to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. Today, more than 17 million customers trust our retirement, insurance and wealth protection expertise to help address their lifestyle, savings and income goals, as well as to guard against long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. The company had $238 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2018. Lincoln Financial Group is a committed corporate citizen included on major sustainability indices including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and FTSE4Good. Additionally, Lincoln is dedicated to upholding a diverse and inclusive organization and was recognized by Forbes as one of the Best Large Employers, Best Employers for Diversity, and Best Employers for Women and received a perfect score of 100 percent in 2018 on both the Corporate Equality Index and Disability Equality Index. Learn more at: www.LincolnFinancial.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Sign up for email alerts at http://newsroom.lfg.com.