Cebile Zibi, Head of Trade Marketing at Momentum Advice

August is a time to celebrate the strength, resilience, and achievements of women. Yet, amid the celebration, a frequently overlooked challenge is the ongoing gap in financial freedom between women and men. According to Momentum’s What Women Want 2025 research, there’s a striking paradox. While 68% of women view financial independence as a key measure of success, far fewer feel confident about their retirement. This isn’t due to a lack of ambition but rather a case of not accessing the right support.

The sobering reality is that South African women typically retire with 21% less in assets than men. This is despite the fact that most women contribute to their savings more consistently than men. This disparity isn’t just a statistical anomaly but rather a symptom of a financial landscape that often fails to account for the unique life journeys and challenges women face.

The solution to this disparity lies in adaptive advice, says Cebile Zibi, Head of Trade Marketing at Momentum Advice. “An approach to financial planning that prioritises flexibility and responsiveness to an individual’s changing life circumstances and market conditions, adaptive advice evolves with you through every stage of life. It recognises that a woman’s journey is not a straight line and that financial plans need to be flexible enough to accommodate life’s unexpected turns.”

Adaptive advice, says Zibi, has numerous advantages for women, helping them to build financial confidence. It plans for life’s pivots whether you’re taking a career break, starting a business, or caring for a family member, helping you rework your financial plan to stay on track.

It can also help women to optimise their earnings, working with them to identify opportunities to increase their disposable income through strategies like tax efficiencies, smart use of benefits, and restructuring debt.

It provides layered protection, ensuring women are not just saving for the future but also protecting what they have built. This includes having the right insurance for their income, health, and dependents.

“Adaptive advice relies on a strong relationship with a financial adviser who works closely with their client as they move through various life stages. They review their client’s investments regularly and adjust them to align with market shifts and changes in an individual’s personal life. In essence, adaptive advice considers the individual and their financial journey holistically. Women are able to track their progress and, together with their financial adviser, make course corrections to ensure that they are able to retire on their own terms,” she says.

Zibi says this August is an opportune time to move beyond celebrating women’s achievements and instead focus on empowering them with the tools and guidance needed to secure their financial futures.

“Financial freedom should be a part of every woman’s success story,” says Zibi.

ENDS