Working women are facing financial risks by not protecting their income

According to recent research(1) 46% of women believe that it would be their sole responsibility to support their family financially if anything unexpected were to happen and yet 45% have no form of financial protection in place.

According to sociologist, Isabella Crespi(2), British culture pressures men and women to conform traditional gender roles, even within modern two-career families, the result being that women often remain subservient. Her view is that working women compensate their guilt for returning to work by undertaking the dual role of earning an income, juggling child care and parenting responsibilities and also assuming the lion’s share of the domestic jobs in the home.

With the gender gap in the workplace gradually becoming closer, and the fact that we are now seeing more women as the main breadwinner in the household, it appears that almost half of women in the workplace are neglecting to protect their income with adequate insurance that could safeguard them and their family if they suddenly found themselves unable to work. Women want to feel financially independent, so even if they did become unable to work they don’t want to be reliant on a partner’s income. Without income protection insurance providing working women with a safety net, unexpected illness or injury could have a serious adverse effect on their financial security.

Wiltshire Friendly Society offer financial protection for women by offering a flexible income protection plan that provides an income in the event that a woman is unable to work through illness or injury. “We want to ensure that women protect their financial risks by having the right protection plan in place so that they are able to support themselves and their families if they were unable to work due to illness or injury”, says Jon Gratland, CEO, Wiltshire Friendly Society Limited. “Our Women Protect Your Income campaign is targeted at speaking to working women to ensure they are aware of the financial risks they face”.

What is Income Protection?

• Insurance that supports an individual financially if they are unable to work:

• It covers a percentage of income if the individual is unable to work due to illness or injury.

• It pays out for a set period of time or until they return to work, whichever is the sooner.

• There is a waiting period before entitlement to benefit payment starts, which the individual chooses to meet budget.

• It insures the majority of illnesses that leave them unable to work.

Full plan terms and conditions are available on request. Who is Wiltshire Friendly? An insurance provider based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. A mutual Friendly Society owned by its members and run for their benefit. It only provides and sells Income Replacement Insurance to a variety of markets.

1 Aegon; [November 2016] Protection Matters – does women’s financial planning match their priorities?

2 Isabella Crespi; [2003] Gender socialization within the family: a study on adolescents and their parents in Great Britain

About Wiltshire Friendly Wiltshire Friendly provides affordable income replacement plans to individuals, groups of employees and professional rugby players. Located in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, our dedicated team gives a personal and knowledgeable service to our members both locally and nationally. Wiltshire Friendly is proud to be a member of the Association of Financial Mutuals (AFM). As a mutual, the Society is owned by our members and operates for their benefit. Established since 1887, Wiltshire Friendly currently has around 4,800 memberships and assets of over £16.3 million (December 2016). T: 01225 752120 E: info@wiltshirefriendly.com

Follow Wiltshire Friendly on Social Media: Twitter: @wiltsfriendly Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wiltsfriendly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wiltshire-friendly-society-limited Website: Wiltshirefriendly.com