Conservative Investing versus Safety in Investing.

Women are conservative when it comes to investing… so says a study according to a study published in the July/August edition of Financial Analysts Journal.:

In addition to finding that women are inclined to invest more conservatively than men, the authors conclude that women’s lower earnings levels will almost certainly lead to reduced expected retirement benefits. The tendency of women to retire earlier and live longer than men, yet have similar annual retirement needs, compounds these differences.

Ultimately, it seems to be the case that women are far more likely than men to claim Social Security survivor benefits. That being said, with regards to Social Security, retirement benefits make up the bulk of the benefits claimed overall.

In case you were not aware, Social Security survivors benefits are available to spouses, ex-spouses, children, and dependent parents of someone who worked and paid into the Social Security system. The amount of the benefit typically depends on the age of the beneficiary and their relationship to the worker, as well as the lifetime earnings of the deceased. Put simply, the more the deceased worker earned, the higher the benefits will be.

For more information about Social Security benefits, including the answer to common questions such as when to claim Social Security survivor benefits, head to the Simply Wise website.

Some final thoughts before we wrap up. In a way it is good that women are conservative, but then the investment philosophy should be sound and logical.  That is often not factored in.  Safe does NOT mean no risk at all.  Safe means intelligent risk taking.  Warren Buffet has done it for so long now that it does come in the realm of “safe”.  THAT is the only way to do it!

To invest, research your stock wisely and seriously.  Take it as if you have only 6 decisions in your life.  How will you take them?  Then move on.