A study by the Momentum Group found that 92% of women lack confidence regarding their retirement. The study shows that conversations about retirement planning often begin far too late. For many, this crucial discussion only begins five years before retirement at best.
The Momentum Group emphasises that women, who often bear a greater financial burden than men, need to take a more proactive role in understanding their finances. The group recommends holding these important financial discussions in a professional setting to ensure women receive expert guidance and are properly equipped to plan for their future.
According to the Momentum Group, women tend to be shy about seeking professional financial help. Therefore, about 80% of women rely on informal platforms for financial advice.
The group advises against this practice and urges women to seek professional financial advice to make more informed financial choices.
It says financial advice is available to both men and women; however, men disproportionately receive this advice, and often acquire more information than women do.
Momentum urges employees, especially women, to be clear about the reality of their retirement life. They should be honest about their individual situations and plan accordingly.
According to a study, only about 8% of surveyed women were confident about their retirement.
Momentum Chief Marketing Officer Ntombizamasala Hlope explains, “Only about 8% of women actually feel confident when it comes to retirement. and the reality is that often the discussion and conversation about retirement happens for most people at maybe five years to retirement if they’re fortunate, maybe 10 years, 2 some 3, and the reality is that by the time you’re at that point, you don’t have enough of the years of work to make the changes that you need to make. You’re only then starting to understand how the retirement industry actually works.”
The group advises employers to encourage their female workers to attend retirement benefit counselling to better plan for their futures.
“In our industry, we have something called retirement benefits counseling. Every single fund member has access to it. No matter who you are with, it is a legislative benefit that allows someone to explain your benefits to you. They can explain what you have built up. They can explain your options and connect you with a financial advisor. Employers can encourage the use of this benefit.
“I’ve been employed for a long time, and no employer has ever asked me if I’ve had my retirement benefit counseling discussion. Encouraging people to engage with the category and use the available resources can make a huge difference because most of our discussions happen with our employers. It’s not just about having money taken out of your paycheck each month; you have to engage with the category. You gotta check your values. You have to update your beneficiaries. A lot of work goes into ensuring your retirement is adequate and has everything you need accounted for,” Hlope adds.
According to Momentum, women are financially overburdened due to the clear financial and career gap between them and men.
Because of this, it says women need to arm themselves financially, as they often find that their retirement takes care of not just themselves, but their dependents as well.
