Majority of women breadwinners

Almost two-thirds (60%) of women say they are the primary breadwinners in their households, according to the Women, Money, and Power Study from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

Other highlights of the survey include:

• Two-thirds of women agree that women cannot rely on a spouse to handle investing. Consistent with that finding, 57% of women respondents say they handle major investment decisions and retirement planning themselves. And almost as many (55%) say they are the ones to research new investing or retirement ideas.
• The majority of households surveyed responded having at least one non-traditional element (i.e., single mother, same-sex couple, parent or adult children in the home), creating new demands and new roles for women.
• Almost a third of women who have chosen to live with a partner without being married are in a same-sex relationship. Among women in same-sex couples, 22% have children under 18 living at home. Overwhelmingly, 80% of these same-sex couples say that their non-traditional family structure creates a whole new level of need for financial awareness.

• Nearly two-thirds (62%) of women express strong interest in learning more about finances and retirement planning.
• Women continue to believe that the financial industry, as a whole, is oriented more toward serving men. A majority of women – 62% – still do not have a financial professional. And a vast majority find most financial information hard to understand and dull.
• Women who responded to the survey tend to prefer a more social way of learning financial information. This includes learning in a group with others of similar life experience (divorce, widowed, same-sex relationship, etc.).

Read the full report here.