Why women need to focus on financial planning

Financial planning is important regardless of
gender, although the issue is more pertinent
for women due to several factors

A POSB bank officer assists an elderly woman with her transactions. PHOTO: ST FILE
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In general, women have a longer life expectancy, compared with men. For example, women here live, on average, six years longer than men, so there is a higher risk of them outliving their spouses. This means more retirement funds are required to fund their twilight years, notes Mr Brandon Lam, Singapore head of financial planning group at DBS Bank.

In the same vein, expenditures for a woman may be higher than that of a man. For the same standard of retirement lifestyle, women may have to set aside a larger amount.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 04, 2018, with the headline Why women need to focus on financial planning. Subscribe