Planning Their Financial Future Agrees with Women

July 15th, 2009
by Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, RFC, President and CEO of the Life foundation.

The PennMutual Life Insurance Company recently conducted a national survey that shows women who actively plan their financial future, including owning life insurance, feel better about themselves, are more self-confident and more likely to take care of themselves.

According to the survey, women comprise 51% of the population, hold 43% of the wealth in America and typically outlive their spouses by five years. The survey also found that most women are neither confident about their finances nor have planned for their future. The Penn Mutual proprietary survey data showed that women who have life insurance differed substantially from the norm and that women insured for the same amount as their spouses were even more likely to have a positive outlook.

Economic statistics referenced in the survey regarding women include the facts that women receive 59% of all post high school degrees, they start businesses at twice the rate of men, they earn $2.4 trillion annually and they influence 95% of all purchasing decisions. This is only a small part of their economic story.

In addition to outliving her male counterpart, she is more likely to be alone later in life and far more likely to spend time in a nursing home.

The survey states that women are expected to account for 92 million jobs by 2050, yet far fewer women have their income protected by something as elemental as a life insurance policy, considered the foundation for any financial plan. Those that do such planning, according to the survey, were more likely to have higher self-esteem, feel more confident about retirement, believe their opinion is important, feel loved by others and take good care of themselves.
This survey makes it all the more apparent that proper planning to insure the needs and human life value of successful women is critically important. Penn Mutual has designed a website to help calculate these values. The LIFE Foundation also has two calculators to help in this area, one to determine human life value and the other to determine your life insurance needs.

Life insurance – it provides you and your family security, dignity and peace of mind.