Study: Young women have more financial savvy than men

Young women are becoming financially independent at an earlier age than men despite carrying greater student debt, a new study found, but many still rely on support from their parents during early adulthood.

Although 75% of young adults say becoming financially independent of their parents is the key indicator of becoming an adult, about half of women and 62% of men in their early 30s report they still get monetary support from their parents, according to data in the report Early Adulthood: The Pursuit of Financial Independence from Merrill Lynch and Age Wave.

But women are around half as likely as men to be receiving a financial boost from mom and dad across nearly all expense categories, including food and groceries (23% of women vs. 40% of men), rent/mortgage payments (15% of women vs. 33% of men), and vacations (17% of women vs. 36% of men).

Only 14% of women rely on their parents for help paying student loans despite carrying almost two-thirds of the cumulative student loan debt in the United States.

Yet that debt reflects the fact that women are more highly educated and better prepared to succeed in the workforce of the future, the study said; for every 100 young men who completed college last year, there were 141 women.

Women were more likely than men to say that their highest financial priority is saving for the future and paying down debt (72% of women vs. 60% of men), while men were significantly more likely to say it was to “enjoy life now” (40% of men vs. 28% of women).

Only 27% of early-adult women said they had investments outside employer-sponsored retirement plans, compared to 46% of men. Women reported being less confident than men in their ability to manage investments, with 41% citing not market volatility but rather the feeling they don’t know enough about what they were doing as their biggest investing fear (compared with 28% of men).