Survey: Czech women are less financially dependent on their partners than American women

When it comes to financial independence, Czech women are more financially secure than American women, suggests a survey conducted by Ellevest. 

The results show that up to 47 percent of American women would only be able to support themselves from their personal savings for a month without their partner's income. Meanwhile, the number of Czech women who are similarly dependent on their partner is significantly lower at 22.5 percent. 

Eva Hlavsová, the co-founder of Fondee, the company for which the survey was conducted, says that in showing the relative independence of Czech women compared to their American counterparts, the research stands in contrast with perceptions of America as a more liberal country for women.

"It turns out that this is not completely true, and Czech women have more freedom when it comes to financial security," she notes.

While American women are more financially dependent on their partners than Czech women, they are much more open about their finances.

One-third of those surveyed said they would sooner prefer to disclose their Internet browser history than talk about personal finances, but 44 percent still regularly discuss finances with other people, compared to only 5 percent of Czech women.

American women also outshine Czech women when it comes to saving for retirement. Thirty-eight percent of them said they were satisfied with their retirement savings plan, while only 15 percent of Czech women shared the sentiment.

Despite the differing attitudes toward retirement savings, Hlavsová adds that both numbers are low, suggesting women in both countries simply aren't saving enough; it also points to shortcomings in retirement savings in general.

Behind those shortcomings is a lack of education as well as simple investment options in the Czech Republic. The low rate of retirement savings among Czechs, in contrast to other European and Western countries such as Austria or France, is because Czech people have significantly less to invest, Hlavsová explains.

The current government intends to speed up its pension reform due to the indebtedness of the system and present a plan by the end of 2023. The main goal of the reform is to strengthen people's motivation to save for their future retirement.

Another discussion point is the prominent discrepancy between the average pension of men (CZK 17,746) and women (CZK 14,859).

One of the solutions being discussed to close the gap, writes news server Seznam Zprávy is the division of pensions between partners. The partner who would otherwise receive a higher pension would then share it with the lower-earning partner.

Hlavsová says the long-term failure of the country's pension system is seeing people move away from traditional savings to investments with potentially higher returns. This approach may also benefit foreigners who often come to the Czech Republic only temporarily at first and don't think of whether or not they are eligible for a future pension here.

Additional findings suggest that Czech women, just like American women, are likely to experience stress when dealing with finances and draw inspiration for financial decisions from similar sources, such as friends and partners. 

"From the results of the survey, we can surmise that...women who have the necessary financial reserves and are less dependent on their partner, are slightly more protective of their finances," explains Hlavsová.