Female planners make more money than women in most other professions and the gap between their salaries and those of their male peers is much smaller than in other fields, according to the Financial Planning Association's salary research study released today.

The 2010-2011 FPA Financial Planning Salary Survey: Compensation, Incentive and Benefit Data for Financial Planners, Technical Specialists and Support Staff is designed to help planners and firm owners know industry standards on a number of topics.

The survey includes 1,000 respondents from firms of various sizes and specialties. It provides information on compensation and benefits by firm characteristics and region for firms from sole practitioners to those managing more than $1 billion in assets and serving hundreds of clients.

Among the findings are that women financial planners are paid 96% of what their male counterparts make. In full-time employment as a whole, women make 80 cents for every dollar earned by a male counterpart. However, the percentage of women who are planners is less than 30%, a figure that hasn't changed much over the last decade and is less than in many other fields.

The new 2010 Comprehensive Interactive Compensation Calculator included in the report enables advisors to calculate compensation ranges based on firm size, job characteristics, AUM, number of clients and other factors. It allows comparisons nationally and by region and by firm type.

Among the survey findings are that a planner with one to three years' experience earns about $48,500 a year and earns more the longer he or she is with the same firm, rather than switching firms. Nearly half of the firms surveyed say they will hire additional staff within the next 12 months. The report is available online through the FPA Store at www.FPAnet.org and costs $125 for FPA members and $350 for non-members.