However, with 80% of women outliving their spouses who have historically handled their finances, they also need your guidance more than ever before.
It’s time to start thinking about how you can better serve this crucial and rapidly growing client base.
Why Your Approach Needs to Change
With 65% of women finding a new financial advisor after their spouse dies, it’s clear that something important is being missed in how advisors work with couples. Even more concerning, only 20% of women have a written financial plan for retirement – a crucial tool for long-term financial success.
Consider how you interact with couples during the planning process. Too often, attention gets directed primarily to the husband during meetings. It’s not intentional, but it happens – and it can cost you valuable relationships.
The fix isn’t complicated — prioritize their inclusion to help them feel seen and heard. It’s not about dumbing things down — it’s about making the conversation relevant to what matters most to them. While returns and technical analysis are exciting, most women are more interested in understanding how their finances support their life goals and protect their families.
Understanding What Makes Women’s Financial Journey Different
Women’s financial lives often look very different from their male counterparts. The challenges are significant:
- 39% of working women report that caregiving responsibilities have interrupted their careers, affecting their ability to save for retirement
- Women typically live longer than men, yet their median retirement savings are just $44,000 (rising to $98,000 among Boomers)
- Only 16% of women workers feel “very confident” about achieving a comfortable retirement
- Their top financial concerns include:
- Outliving savings and investments (44%)
- Social Security cuts (43%)
- Long-term care needs due to declining health (41%)
- Meeting basic family financial needs (39%)
- Cognitive decline and related healthcare costs (37%)
Long-term planning for your female clients needs to look different, especially when it comes to healthcare costs and creating income that truly lasts. Understanding these challenges means offering guidance that fits their lives, not just cookie-cutter advice that often misses the mark.
Taking a Holistic Approach
The fact that one-third of women have taken loans or early withdrawals from their retirement accounts further emphasizes the importance of comprehensive financial planning and education.
Traditional investment-only conversations miss crucial nuances that matter deeply to female clients — like protection planning, legacy goals, and long-term care considerations. This is where holistic financial planning becomes essential.
The Bucket Plan® strategy particularly resonates with female clients because it addresses their core concerns: having reliable income, maintaining their lifestyle, and protecting their family against life’s uncertainties. By segmenting assets into Now, Soon, and Later buckets, advisors can help women visualize how their money will work for them through different life stages while protecting against market volatility and longevity risk.
Building Relationships That Last
The key to serving female clients well is taking the time to build real relationships. That means creating an environment where they feel comfortable asking questions and learning. This becomes especially important during major life changes, such as divorce, losing a spouse, retirement, career shifts — times when clients need an advisor who can provide both solid financial guidance and a steady hand.
This approach should be a given as it helps create solid outcomes for all your clients, not just women. These relationship skills lead to stronger connections and better results across the board.
Making It Happen in Your Practice
So how does this work in practice? It starts with taking a fresh look at communication and planning methods, involving both spouses in conversations, and developing support for life’s big transitions. These aren’t massive changes, but they can make a huge difference in keeping a widow as a client.
Further, implementing a proven process like The Bucket Plan® provides structure to these conversations while ensuring all aspects of a client’s financial life are addressed. This systematic approach helps create clarity and confidence – especially valuable when working with female clients who may be taking a more active role in their finances for the first time.
Moving Forward
With women controlling more wealth and on pace to continue this trend while making more financial decisions than ever before, the time to adapt is now.
C2P has the tools and support to help make this transition smooth or your current efforts even more successful.
Ready to enhance your approach to serving female clients? Book a call with C2P today to learn how our training, resources, and support programs can help you create more meaningful client relationships.
This blog post is based on insights from A Woman’s Clarity® podcast series which aims to provide tips and insights that help men and women advisors better serve their female clients.
To continue learning about serving female clients and more methods and strategies to enhance your practice, subscribe to C2P’s industry-leading podcasts: The Bucket Plan®, The Rainmaker Multiplier, or A Woman’s Clarity®.
For Financial Professional Use Only
The information provided in this presentation is not intended as investment advice or legal advice. The information provided is for informational and training purposes only. The information in this presentation was accurate as of the time the material was created. Tax laws and rulings can frequently change. Please discuss the client’s current situation with an accountant or tax advisor.