JOCELYN YANG: Single women clients face a unique set of challenges for financial advisors, especially when it comes to retirement and estate planning issues.

HEATHER ZACK, MANAGER, ADVANCED PLANNING DEPARTMENT, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL NETWORK: This is an opportunity to not only help a client plan for her financial future, but it's also an opportunity to contribute to creating financial parity for women in general.

JOCELYN YANG: Heather Zack, the manager of the advanced planning department of Commonwealth Financial Network, suggests advisors check eligibility for retirement benefits when working with single women clients.

HEATHER ZACK: For a single woman, we're looking at her eligibility for a retirement benefit rather than any auxiliary benefits.

JOCELYN YANG: Zack said in order to qualify for benefits, it requires the client to have 40 quarters of working history, and special considerations for the self-employed.

HEATHER ZACK: Estate planning for a single person could be viewed as somewhat unnecessary, but I would strongly disagree. Having an estate plan in place is still necessary to ensure that wealth is effectively distributed.

JOCELYN YANG: For divorced women clients, Zack suggests advisors check dual eligibility for retirement benefits and spousal benefits, and review clients' beneficiary designations which may have named a spouse, as the way those are handled can vary state to state. She also lists a few things advisors should be aware of when working with widowed clients.

HEATHER ZACK: Ensure that your widowed clients are working with an attorney to manage the probate process and that they timely file an estate tax return, in order to claim portability of any of their deceased spouse's unused exemption amount.

JOCELYN YANG: More broadly, FAs have a role to play in helping close the wider gender wealth gap. The Bureau of Labor’s 2020 statistics show that women earn 82.3 cents on the dollar compared to men, and the gap was even more pronounced for women of color, according to Zack.

By creating and sticking to a strong financial plan, and helping clients with negotiation skills, FAs can help close the pay gap.

HEATHER ZACK: Often, the fear associated with these endeavors can prevent a client from taking that first step out of concern for losing her current financial stability. Ensuring that she is confident in her finances can provide her with the safety net to take that first step.

JOCELYN YANG: This is Jocelyn Yang for Financial Advisor IQ.

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Targeting Single Female Clients? Here Are Some Tips

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