Men are on average £60k better off than women until they hit 70, new Unbiased data reveals

New research from Unbiased, the UK’s leading financial advice platform, found that the asset gap between women and men is widest before retirement at £116,000 during their 50s.

The study, based on a survey of over 1,200 financial advice seekers, reveals that women, on average, possess £60,000 less in assets than men (£220,425 compared to £160,030).

The asset gap mostly narrows through their working lives, from £50,000 in their 40s and rising to £116,000 in their 50s, before reaching its smallest point at £35,000 in favour of men in their 60s.

However, the data highlights that everything flips once men and women reach their 70s. From this age, the asset gap then grows to £217,000 in favour of women.

This reversal is possibly due to the Great Wealth Transfer, as women are more likely to receive assets due to a longer life expectancy, inheriting assets when a loved one passes away or after a divorce, or by building their own wealth.

This aligns with the broader trend that women are currently forecast to own 60% of UK wealth by the end of 2025, according to The Centre for Economics and Business Research. 

Unbiased research also found that women are also 45% more likely than men to include inheritance under their overall asset wealth. Over half (57%) of men said they plan to leave assets to a female partner, compared to only 28% of women who plan to leave assets to a male partner. 

Karen Barrett, founder and chief executive of Unbiased, comments on the findings:

“It’s disappointing to see a huge asset gap between men and women amid the greatest wealth transfer in history.

“However, it’s positive to see that the asset gap usually gets smaller as women get older and either build, inherit or acquire wealth, as part of the Great Wealth Transfer. 

“There are many factors impacting the asset gap, but one way to help reduce it is to empower women to seek expert financial advice, so they can make decisive and informed plans for the future and preserve any assets they inherit.

“The financial advice industry is vital to helping women build long-term security by supporting them as they navigate their finances throughout their working lives and into retirement.”

About Unbiased

Unbiased is an AI-enabled financial advice platform, empowering people to make confident financial decisions and delivering unrivalled growth for advice firms. 

With the greatest wealth transfer in history now underway, Unbiased connects people to trusted advice across pensions and retirement, inheritance planning, mortgages, accountancy, and more. 

The Unbiased platform applies advanced models trained on a rich dataset of user activity to intelligently match individuals with qualified advisers, providing the easiest and most reliable way to access financial expertise. 

Since 2009, Unbiased has generated over $100 billion in AUM opportunities for financial advisers, with 65% of prospects new to advice. Reaching more than 10 million consumers annually, it is the leading source of client demand in the industry. 

For more information, visit unbiased.co.uk