Population estimates issued by the Office for National Statistics suggest that women are set to hold most of the UK’s investment and pensions wealth.

The figures reveal that in the middle of 2024, there were 31.5m women and 30.3m men in England and Wales.

The average age in England was 40.2 years and in Wales was 42.8 years, but the number of people aged over 65 continues to grow, up by 1.8% in England and up 1.5% in Wales.

Interestingly, there are roughly 105 boys born for every 100 girls and until the age of 25, there were more men than women. But by the age of 90 and over, there were almost twice as many women as men.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Women are set to hold most of the UK’s investment and pensions wealth. Men are more likely to engage with investments and take advantage of the enormous growth potential they offer, but as they get older, this is all set to change.

“The ONS figures show women are significantly likely to outlive their partner, so will eventually end up in the driving seat financially. The question is whether couples are preparing sensibly for this or sticking their heads in the sand.”

Ms Coles warned that there’s every sign that women aren’t engaging with investments anywhere near as much as men. HMRC figures show 57% of people who paid into stocks and shares ISAs in 2021/22 were men and HL data shows the investment gap starts opening by the age of 19, when more men than women are already investing.

However, when one passes away, things change significantly, Ms Coles pointed out. “The ONS figures show women will tend to outlive men. Women outnumber men by more than a million. This is despite the fact that more baby boys are born, and boys outnumber girls to the age of 25. Women are dominating purely by living longer.”

After overtaking men at 26, the numbers of men and women remain pretty similar throughout our working lives. At the age of 50 there are only 4% more women than men. However, by the age of 75 there are 13% more women, and by the age of 90, there are almost twice as many women.

Women not only live longer than men on average, they also tend to marry slightly older. Ms Coles said: “It means that in a typical couple, the wife will outlive the husband. Assuming they pass the bulk of their wealth to their surviving spouse, it means women are set to hold the vast majority of the UK’s investment wealth.”