Wealthy women in Asia are more likely to delegate key financial decisions to family members than their male counterparts, according to a recent YouGov and Saij Elle survey.
The share of wealth in Asia owned by women is rising rapidly, yet close to a quarter of rich woman in Asia leave retirement and investment decisions to spouses or family members.
Just 38% of women say they are the primary decision-makers in long-term financial planning like retirement planning.
Being married doesn't seem to make a significant difference in women's retirement planning.
Nearly one in five married women are dependent on their spouse to make retirement financial decisions for them, while 28% of single women solely rely on other family members to make retirement plans.
There are differences among countries in Asia, but some of the most and least dependent woman live in highly developed countries.
Women in Hong Kong are more likely to make independent financial decisions related to their retirement (59%) and the least likely to rely on their spouse (7%) and other family members (9%).
In contrast, women in Singapore and the Philippines are the least likely to be the primary decision-makers of their retirement plan. In Singapore, 29% of women are the primary decision-makers, compared with 43% of men, while 19% of women rely on family members.
Close to a quarter of Filipino women are dependent on family members to make financial decisions on their behalf, the highest rate in Asia. Women are also less likely to be the key financial decision-makers in other areas, with the exception of education.
Women are also more likely to defer decisions on short-term investments and property to their spouse or family members.
While 51% of married women say they manage their short-term investments independently, one in five defer to their spouse completely. Nearly a quarter of single women (24%) have another family member choose their investments for them.
With respect to property, 40% of men say they are the primary decision-makers, while 27% of women say so.
Being married slightly increases the odds of being dependent in this regard: almost a third of married women (31%) leave the financial decision to their spouse, while 25% of couples make the decision together.
The one notable exception is financial planning for children's education, where more women than men are the primary decision-maker (45% vs 39%).
A majority of women in Asia (66%) are worried about not having enough money for retirement.