On average, women live about seven years longer than men. It's estimated that 25 percent of widows have nothing left of their husbands' death benefits in just two months. As a result, women need to increase their savings goals. In fact, she recommends that women save 15 percent of their income or 50 percent more than the standard 10 percent recommendation for men. Those are the realities of life.
Women live longer and earn less.
That means that they'll have to be better investors who can adopt some of life's time-tested investment strategies both now and in the future. Carroll Dudley III, a veteran stock broker with Edward Jones in Sacramento, says women need to develop their own financial goals. Many women, who are new to investing, are understandably nervous. They could consider buying annuities to provide a stream of income that they cannot outlive. Annuities help some people sleep at night, Carroll says.