As Women’s Month ends, we wanted to remind women why it is so important to save and invest well throughout their lifetime.

A new study published by the Retirement and Savings Institute at business school HEC Montréal, compared single men and women aged 45 to 59. (Single is defined as never married, divorced, separated, or widowed.) “Overall, we estimate that single men have $56,000 more wealth than single women on average, a wealth gap of 16% relative to men’s wealth,” the study says. “The gap is largest at the top of the wealth distribution and has persisted over time, with no evidence that women are catching up.”

This data was gathered between 1999 and 2019 focusing on the years leading up to retirement. According to this study, single women are more educated, slightly older, and more likely to be widowed. At the same time, women have lower employment rates and tend to have more responsibilities for family care.

In addition, women continue to make less money than men. In 2023, women between the ages 35 to 54 earned 13% less in hourly wages than their male counterparts. Even though we talk about this every year, this inequity hasn’t moved very much, in 2012 it was 15%.

The introduction of pay transparency rules may start to improve the gender wage gap between men and women. However, the wealth gap is difficult to address because it reflects the cumulative effect of years or decades of women making less money. This is why women must get the best possible results when saving and investing for their retirement.

That being said, I know many successful, financially secure women (some of whom are reading this) who have built enough wealth to enjoy a long and sustainable retirement. However, for some women this study should be an eye-opener, it may be time to take your savings and investing more seriously.

Building wealth for our future is crucial, if you would like to discuss your portfolio or set up a retirement plan, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Have a great weekend,

Tracey & Paige

Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-why-men-retire-richer-than-women/?intcmp=gift_share

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

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