Vulnerability and the link to the advice gap is something I have written about in previous articles, and these are key considerations for advice firms who are thinking about their strategic positioning and business growth plans. I would like to throw something else into the mix. As more than 60% of the wealth of the UK is in the hands of women, is potential vulnerability and the advice gap likely to impact a higher percentage of women than men?
Considering vulnerability first, the answer should be, not necessarily. As we know vulnerability takes many forms and can of course be temporary. Is vulnerability likely to impact women more than men? On balance, you would hope not… however couple this question with some of the stats from the recent Schroders Personal Wealth’s ‘Women and Wealth Report 2025’ and we may want to drill into this this, a little deeper. 30% of those surveyed had lost a partner compared to a statistical lower 22% of male counterparts, leaving a larger number of women dealing with the aftermath of bereavement, a vulnerable time.
So the survey might be telling us that the increased risk of vulnerability and the advice gap is a real issue in the population who actually hold the balance of wealth.
The Schroders’ survey of 500 women at different life stages, found that only 11% of women felt confident in their retirement income being sufficient with 4 in 10 stating caregiving as having an impact on their retirement funding. Only 28% of women seek advice from a financial adviser with regard to their retirement planning. Other research indicates that men are 3 times more likely to seek advice. The women surveyed indicated a range of reasons why this was, including high cost of charges, lack of clear information, complex jargon and finding someone they could trust. So the survey might be telling us that the increased risk of vulnerability and the advice gap is a real issue in the population who actually hold the balance of wealth.
I have now started, in a very small way to address the advice gap, locally. I have begun running “Financial Wellbeing and the basics of Investment” to local WIs in my county. I have several bookings and at each one I can almost guarantee that I’ll collect real life stories after the presentation, which support some of the stats above and validate thinking on the size of the problem (or the opportunity depending on your perspective!)
Let me give you some scenarios that I have come across. Commonly in ladies who tend to be older the lack of NI payments has meant a lower state pension and something which was “not a problem” all the time they had two state pensions coming in. It appears a number of loving husbands, genuinely believed that getting their spouse to pay reduced NI or not bothering to save into their occupational pensions was a good idea at the time. Afterall, this approach would have meant wives had more disposal income at the time of greatest need. The stories I’ve heard like “he said I didn’t have to worry as I would have his pension to live off, but when he died I only got half his pension and I have a reduced state pension”.
Then there are the not so loving husbands, who just left. I’ve met women in their 60’s and 70’s who have “lost” husbands to divorce and no one offered to help them make claim to pension arrangements or other financial benefits. In fact this is often linked to a common occurrence …. “My husband found our financial adviser (or they were a friend of the husband) so I didn’t like to interfere”.
Lots of ladies have said, we do have a financial adviser but “he just talks to my husband, and I don’t bother to read the correspondence that gets sent and it doesn’t make much sense”. I don’t why this still shocks me after all these years but it does, as often the ladies admit that “the Adviser just gets me to sign what I have to”. Of course statistically the husband is likely to die first, I would love to be a fly on the wall when they arrange their first visit to the widow, in the hope that she says “Oh now you want to talk to me” !! In reality, the widow is likely to stay with the adviser, due to inertia (and because thinking about finding a new adviser at a vulnerable time is not going to be a high priority). What a shame.
Then there are the women impacted by the horrors of the care system with lots of stories of parents, who are trapped in the means tested care home cost cycle. For those that I am talking to, many will end up with little or no inheritance coming to them and I find myself listening to “why bother to put money away for yourself as the state will only take it back”. Interestingly, despite going through this, most seem unaware of the benefits of planning to avoid a similar fate for their beneficiaries. The need for later life planning is desperately needed, especially in more rural areas with lots of people (men and women) panicking about the revised IHT rules of agricultural land.
Not all ladies in the WI have reached retirement and many believe if they still have dependent children and / or mortgages, they can’t possibly afford to begin investing. In fact I ask the question at the start of every session “who feels confident that they know the difference between saving and investing?”. On average I will have about half the room who will admit that they are not confident. Again, what are we doing as an industry to close those knowledge gaps. Well thankfully I have come across firms who work to survey women and make the effort to education and signpost, like Schroders, so I hope that it is an improving picture. There is a lot of business out there, for the right advisers with the right skills to engage women and explain the benefits of planning at an earlier age.
Using the example above, I would urge advise firms to find the “captive” audiences, clubs, groups and offer to come and speak about finance related topics. This needs to be part of your marketing budget and growth plan strategy. I did helpfully have one lady who said “you must add something to the title of your presentation which makes it sound less boring”. I haven’t had to because groups are booking to have me speak. That just proves to me that women know they need to be more in control and knowledgeable about the basics.
Of course, I also find myself commonly asked about where do I go for financial advice? Naturally I remain neutral and signpost to sites and information where people can take the next step and get tailored advice. It has become something of a passionate hobby for me, but for advisers and wealth managers out there, it’s an untapped market – seeking out the wealth owners who are holding the wealth strings but don’t even realise it! We should not be afraid to offer paid vitally needed support to those who might be vulnerable and slipping through the cracks of the advice gap.
