Women in their 50s need financial advice. Can you provide it?

As women enter their 50s, they can encounter a range of financial challenges. Caregiving responsibilities for children and parents may cause them to deprioritize their careers during their peak earning years. Health challenges associated with aging may require them to take time off work. Divorce or widowhood may leave them facing a less secure financial future.

A recent report from the National Institute on Aging found that 67% of women over 50 say they have enough income, compared to 76% of men in the same cohort. Meanwhile, 31% of 50-plus women who planned to retire said they’d be able to afford to when they wanted to, compared to 38% of 50-plus men. There’s clearly room for improvement in both planning and confidence, which can be achieved by working with a financial advisor.

It’s important to note that the stakes are high in what is, for many, the final decade leading up to retirement. Many women are aware of this. And, fortunately, some have started reaching out on their own initiative for financial advice. Jeny Yeung, Senior Director, Business Development, with Beneva, says that because women in their 50s aren’t typically the focus for financial planning marketing, it’s a minority who are proactive enough to find and engage an advisor. But the interest is there — and, with it, an opportunity for advisors.

“Advisors should have all the conversations with women in their 50s,” says Yeung. “It’s important to do couple planning and then also do individual planning…because [partners] may have different interests. Then, if there is ‘grey divorce,’ when they get divorced at this age, there are still opportunities. If you were the planner for the family and you actually did communicate with the woman in that relationship, she may continue with that [advisory] relationship.”

When communicating with any client, including 50-something women, Yeung emphasizes the importance of avoiding assumptions and listening to learn each person’s specific needs, wants and dreams. In particular, women may be the same age but in different life stages, with different financial requirements and saving priorities.

“There are people who have children [at a young age] and then maybe their career has been pushed back a little bit and now they’re catching up to where they want to be. And then there are people who had kids much later in life — I have a girlfriend who had her first kid at 45 — that’s a different challenge in itself. And then there is the portion who are unmarried, no kids,” Yeung points out.

With households coming in all shapes and sizes, customization is key. That goes for communication preferences. After all, some clients want nothing more than a semi-annual statement while others enjoy receiving newsletters and articles relevant to their situation. It also goes for financial advice, of course — though some financial solutions, such as life insurance, have applications in many different client scenarios.

For example, Yeung says, life insurance can be used to protect women in case their spouse predeceases them, to pay off debt owed by an estate and to transfer wealth to a partner or to the next generation, since retirement savings are often eroded by increasing health costs as people age. It can also be helpful to put life insurance in place for children so they’re guaranteed to qualify for coverage as adults.

In the end, providing appropriate financial planning advice to women in their 50s and then seeing them through the transition into retirement can help advisors build their businesses. Advisors may be able to cultivate relationships with women’s parents, who may be in need of estate planning guidance, and with women’s children, who have the potential to become an advisor’s next generation of clients.

“You can build that family circle of trust,” says Yeung.

Ignoring this market, on the other hand, comes with the risk that money will transfer away from your practice at vulnerable moments — such as when a woman divorces, loses a spouse or passes away herself and leaves her assets to beneficiaries who don’t know you.

“The female market is such an untapped market,” Yeung emphasizes. “Whether you’re a male advisor or a female advisor…don’t forget about that market. There’s a large opportunity.”