More women have taken the lead in making financial decisions in their households. What’s more, a majority see themselves as more financially savvy than their spouse or partner.
But with all that financial power, women are feeling less secure financially than they did in the past, with 64% indicating that they feel secure, down from 72% in 2021, according to the 2023 “Women Money and Power” study from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.
The study, based on an online survey in October of 900 women ages 25 to 75 with an annual income of more than $30,000, found nearly half (49%) of women consider themselves to be the chief financial officer of their households. That is an increase from 41% in 2021. Married women who oversee the household finances jumped from 34% in 2021 to 43% in 2023.
When those numbers were broken down by age group, Gen Xers led, with 54% saying they were most likely to consider themselves their household CFO, something said by 51% of millennials and 41% of baby boomers.
As economic power has shifted to women in recent decades, it’s no surprise that 43% say they’re the breadwinners in their families, an increase from 34% in 2021. More millennial women (51%) called themselves the primary breadwinners, while only 39% of Gen Xers and 37% of boomers did.
But the study also found that women are feeling financially insecure, even as they take on CFO roles. In 2021, nearly three-fourths (72%) said they were feeling secure. That declined to 64% in 2023. Married women were the most likely to feel secure (something cited by 73% of them), followed by divorced women (54% of whom said they felt secure), single women (45% of whom felt secure) and widowed women (44% of whom felt secure).
At the same time, many women are also not feeling confident about their current retirement plans. Divorced women, the study said, were the most anxious about retirement: Only 38% said they felt confident about their current plans, while 47% of single women and 53% of widowed women did. Married women had the most confidence: 56% of them said they were confident about their plans.
“Women are holding more economic power, and yet they still lack financial confidence,” Heidi Vanderkloot, head of field marketing organizations distribution at Allianz Life, said in a statement. “The guidance of a financial professional can help women define a long-term financial strategy to increase that sense of confidence. A strong financial approach can include risk mitigation strategies and help ease the worry of future unknowns.”