10 Essential Financial Facts About Women (InvestmentNews)

Forget the female stereotypes—women control $14 trillion in personal wealth assets. That number could jump to $22 trillion by 2020. At some point in their lives, 95% of women will be their family’s primary financial advisor. Just over 10% of women 65 and older are poor, compared to 7% of men 65 and older. Women represent 57% of all Social Security beneficiaries, but only 49% of women contribute to their 401(k) plans. Women are four times more likely than men to be widowed and outlive their husbands by an average of 14 years. The median age when a woman loses her spouse is 59. And 70% of windowed women change their financial advisor within a year of their spouses’ death.