WOMEN TAKING ON MORE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
By Adnews Staff
Canadian women are taking more control of their financial future, according to a survey done by Gallup Canada. More women are purchasing financial products and enrolling in company pensions and RRSPs. Canadians view women and men as equal partners in financial planning with 78% of couples saying the female partner has an equal role in making financial decisions. When asked if women are as knowledgeable as men when it comes to money and investing, 88% of women and 86% of men agreed. Almost 70% of women expect to be financially self-sufficient when they retire. One in three women has her own company pension plan through her employer. Investing by Canadian women is also on the rise. More than half of all women said they have an RRSP or RRIF, up from 38% in a 1992 survey. Overall RRSP participation remained steady at 57.8%, while 60.3% of men have an RRSP. Participation rose to over 70% among men and women aged 40 to 64 years-of-age. Women have accumulated about the same amount of money as men in their RRSPs except in the over $100,000 category. More than 14% of men have invested at this level, while just under 4% of women have. Women are significant purchasers of financial products. Over 37% of women own mutual funds, nearly one-third have invested in GICs and almost one in four owns stocks or bonds. Both men and women say their partner is their primary source of advice when making a major financial decision. Both also said they rely more heavily on a friend or family member for advice than they do on a financial institution. Regionally, women in B.C. are leading the way in RRSP investment while women in Ontario lead in ownership of investment products. Forty-five per cent of women in the Prairies have consulted with a financial planner in preparing for their retirement. The national average is 31.7%. Quebec women plan to work as long as they can and more people in Atlantic Canada view men and women as equal partners in financial planning. The survey was commissioned by the Investors Group. It involved a telephone poll of 1,405 adults between May 22 and 31.