Why many older women are saying “I don’t” to marriage
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 14 February 2024
⏱️ 26 minutes
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Summary
Whether they are widowed, divorced,or have never married, more women over the age of 50 are choosing the single life. It has nothing to do with love and everything to do with protecting their finances.
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In the coming decade, women will hold greater economic power than they did in previous generations. Economists at McKinsey estimate that by 2030, American women are poised to control much of the $30 trillion in personal wealth that baby boomers are expected to possess.
This shift in the financial landscape means more women are taking control of their finances and protecting their wealth. For some, that means choosing not to get married later in life. Whether they are widowed, divorced or have never married, more women over the age of 50 aren’t walking down the aisle. They’re walking to the bank.
Today’s show was produced by Charla Freeland. It was mixed by Sean Carter. It was edited by Lucy Perkins.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Women in the US have greater economic power than ever before. |
| 0:07.0 | More women are graduating from college than men. The share of women-run |
| 0:15.1 | Fortune 500 companies has risen and in nearly half of heterosexual marriages |
| 0:20.4 | women are earning as much or more than their husbands. |
| 0:25.0 | But with greater economic power comes new financial considerations, |
| 0:30.0 | and the desire among many women to protect their money. |
| 0:33.5 | For many older women, that means saying no to marriage. |
| 0:37.5 | Whether they're widowed, divorced, or were never married, |
| 0:41.0 | more women in their 50s and older are choosing the single life. |
| 0:45.8 | I wanted to learn more about this shift in the financial landscape, so I called up |
| 0:50.0 | personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary and features reporter Roxanne Roberts. |
| 0:55.1 | I asked Roxanne why so many women are opting out of marriage. |
| 0:59.1 | The one word answer is fear that even if you set up a pre-nup there are various cases where everybody |
| 1:06.4 | thought they had airtight financial protections and those turned out not |
| 1:10.0 | to be so airtight but if they don't get married, they think that that protects |
| 1:15.8 | them in a way that would not exist if they were legally bound. |
| 1:19.3 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
| 1:27.0 | I'm Elahé I'm Elahay I Zadi. |
| 1:29.0 | It's Wednesday, February 14th, Valentine's Day. |
| 1:33.1 | And on this Valentine's Day, I talk with Michelle and Roxanne about the surprising financial |
| 1:38.1 | reasons why so many women are rethinking marriage. |
| 1:42.0 | And what factors we should consider to protect both our hearts and |
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