Women must prepare financially for the future.

Survey after survey reveals the cold hard facts: Women are not well prepared financially, particularly for retirement. Several factors account for this. On average, women earn 25-30% less than men. They also traditionally work less than males, with more of them employed part time or taking time out from full-time careers to raise children. Jumping in and out of the job market, or working only part time, minimizes pension, Social Security, and health insurance benefits. Research by the Older Women's League found that 55% or working females have employer-provided health insurance vs. 72% of males.

Divorce and widowhood are two other significant factors. Many divorced women, often facing the financial burden of raising the children without marketable job experience, quickly fall into poverty. Some divorcees unwittingly give up the right to receive their ex-husband's pension benefits after his death. Women also, on average, outlive men by six to seven years. Most haven't saved enough to live comfortably during retirement, and many depend solely on Social Security. One survey noted that 70% of the nation's older poor are female.

Moreover, women often are not involved in major investment and financial decisions of the household and are not as confident as men about financial matters. A Merrill Lynch Retirement Planning Survey found that women were twice as likely to have someone else manage their retirement savings and investments, save only half as much as men, and start saving later than males. Women tend to favor...