Older women 'make cash decisions themselves'

Older women are twice as likely as younger ones to make their own financial decisions and the majority would not even ask anyone for advice, a survey shows today.

About 64 per cent of women aged over 65 said they made small decisions, such as day-to-day budgeting and paying bills, on their own, while 41 per cent would take sole charge of big decisions, too, including whether to buy a new car, according to high street bank Halifax.

But just 32 per cent of women aged 18-24 felt confident enough to make small decisions on their own, while only 24 per cent would make a big decision without getting help.

The group attributed the trend to the fact that younger people were more willing to discuss their finances openly, while people were also settling down later in life, meaning they were more likely to consult a family member about money matters.

Younger women also seemed more open about discussing their finances with their partner, with 53 per cent saying they would make small decisions jointly, while 10 per cent would ask someone else to help them make a decision, rising to 18 per cent for big decisions.

But most of the women aged over 65 said they would not discuss financial matters with anyone, while just 1 per cent would allow their partner to make a big financial decision without them and none would give their other half control over small decisions.

Only 35 per cent of women aged over 65 said they would be prepared to share small financial decisions with their partner. The group said older women were more likely to want to manage their finances on their own because of their childhood experiences, when it was common for one member of the family to handle the household income, and money was not talked about openly.

Around 39 per cent of women aged over 65 said their mother managed the household budget alone, while 33 per cent said their father did.

ICM Research questioned 948 women for the study.