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Women are earning, creating, inheriting and managing more wealth than ever before. Yet research suggests this is not matched by greater confidence or engagement with long-term financial decisions. This is according to St James’s Place’s Financial Health Report 2026: Women and Wealth, published today, 24 June.1
The report shows while women take the lead with day-to-day household budgeting, they are less confident and engaged than men about managing long-term finances. They’re also less likely to have taken financial advice or have a financial plan, and more likely to be struggling financially.
Despite the many challenges, the research points to reasons for optimism. Among younger women, those aged 18 to 34, more than four in 10 have a financial plan, while higher numbers are investing. This suggests a potentially positive shift.
At a glance
- Women are more likely than men to say they are struggling financially (24% compared to 18% of men).
- Less than one in three women invest (27%), compared to 43% of men. This rises to 29% among younger women.
- The majority of women (84%) say they are involved in household finances and 46% lead on managing the household budget (compared to 39% of men).
Household budgeting vs long-term planning
While women take the lead on managing the household budget and day-to-day spending, they lag men in engaging with long-term financial planning.
The majority of women (84%) say they are involved in household finances and 46% lead on managing the household budget (compared to 39% of men).
But the research found men were more likely to take the lead on the decisions around long-term wealth building, such as choosing savings providers, where 50% of men said they lead the decision compared to 42% of women, investing (53% vs 34%), retirement planning (48% vs 32%) and Wills and estate planning (36% vs 28%).
Women are also less likely to take professional financial advice. One in four (25%) have had financial advice in the past 10 years compared to 31% of men. Women are also less likely to invest (27% vs 43%).
More women are struggling financially than men (24% vs 18%), and women are less likely to say they are financially comfortable (31% vs 44%).
But among the positive findings, younger women are more engaged with their long-term financial planning. Almost one in three (29%) of women aged 18 to 34 are investing, while four in ten (44%) have a financial plan.
Career breaks
Taking time out of the workplace inevitably has a big impact on women’s ability to save and plan for the future. More than half of women (56%) have taken a break from paid employment, compared to 38% of men. Almost one in five women (19%) say they feel less financially secure as a result of a career break.
To put this into context, the report shows that the ‘pension cost’ of a five-year career break at age 30, for example, could add up to more than £30,000. To make up this loss of pension saving, a woman would need to contribute more than 9.7% of future earnings into a pension.
Planning for the unexpected
The report found many couples are not prepared for major life events. Almost four in 10 couples (38%) have not discussed what would happen in the event of illness, separation or death or a partner, or couldn’t remember if they had. Only a fifth (20%) said they had discussed these things in detail.
However, 78% of women receiving ongoing financial advice said they had discussed what would happen in these scenarios.
The value of advice
The report found that among women receiving ongoing financial advice, confidence levels were much higher when dealing with different aspects of finance.
For example, 74% of this group were confident making investment decisions, compared to 41% of women who do not receive advice.
More than eight in 10 women (82%) who receive advice said they would be confident managing a significant inheritance. This compares to just 52% of women not receiving advice. Furthermore, 68% of women receiving advice are confident adjusting their pension contributions. This falls to just 43% among women who don’t have financial advice.
Claire Trott, Head of Advice at St. James’s Place, says: “Our research reveals where women receive financial advice, confidence levels can be significantly boosted and therefore engagement is increased. This shows the value of advice and talking financial plans through with an adviser.
It can help women to clarify their financial goals and achieve the reassurance and support needed to move forward confidently.”
Practical steps to help women plan ahead
Among the practical help offered in the SJP Women and Wealth report, are the following considerations:
- Check employer policies before taking leave. Understand how maternity, parental leave, sick pay and pension contributions work, including whether enhanced pay or employer pension contributions continue.
- Review pension contributions before and after a break. Pausing, reducing or missing contributions can affect long-term retirement savings, especially where employer contributions are also missed.
- Understand how salary sacrifice could affect maternity pay. Statutory Maternity Pay is based on average weekly earnings, so salary sacrifice arrangements, including pension contributions, may affect the amount received.
Source
1 Financial Health Report 2026: Women and Wealth. On behalf of St. James's Place, Opinium surveyed 6,000 UK adults nationwide between 17 March and 9 April 2026. Quotas and post-weighting were applied to the sample to make the dataset representative of the UK adult population.
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