New Research: Women Taking Retirement And Overall Financial Reins

You've likely heard the term "sheconomy" in recent months in reference to the rise of woman's economic power. I have recent survey results that shed light on the details on woman's approach to spending and saving, especially as they plan for retirement.

Women now account for almost half of the workforce, and as more women have incomes of their own, they are becoming more financially confident and proactive. When compared to men, women are doing more to save money in the short term and more are thinking ahead to long-term retirement savings with an eye for income-generating investments.

Topline findings of the 2011 Scottrade American Retirement Survey include:

• Women’s confidence in their ability to plan for retirement has reached a three-year high: 69 percent of women rating their confidence level as good or very good putting them on par with men for the first time in three years.


• More women are finding ways to increase their cash flow during retirement: Forty percent of women have structured their portfolios to include investments that will generate income during retirement, compared to 30 percent of men.
  


• More women have started to save for retirement than men (79 percent of women vs. 74 percent of men).


• Women are exercising self control: While more than a quarter (28 percent) of men are concerned about controlling their urge to spend, only 17 percent of women share that concern – and that number is down from 27 percent of women
  in 2009.
  


• Women are taking action: Women are more likely to take proactive steps to address financial concerns (94 percent of women vs. 88 percent of men).